Critical Essay: Diamonds In North America
Denise Bourgeois, Courtney Johnson, Reginald Coleman, Francis Richards
University Of Phoenix
SCI256
People, Science, and the Environment
Sunny Ryerson
August 31, 2006
Workshop 4
Diamonds in North America
“Don’t you know diamonds are a girl’s best friend?” Many female pop stars throughout the ages have sung about this precious gem. What is it about this element? Is it because its peculiar shape, variety of colors and flawless clarity? Who knows? The fascination of this gem has been in effect since the dark ages. To find one or even purchase one makes someone feel like royalty. A country …show more content…
That is why the world was at awe to find that the continent of North America possessed these mines as well. As a matter of fact, the past decade, Canada has manufactured 15% of the world’s diamonds. In 1989, Canadian geologists stumbled upon a dig site that contains “pipes”. Pipes are the veins that carry diamonds to the surface from great depths (Raven-Berg, 2005). In 1991, the company DiaMet found 81 diamond pipes. It was not the first diamond find in North American but it was the first major commercial deposit (Arctic, 2003). When the discovery was announced, it sparked the biggest staking rush in Canadian history. By 2002, over 300 pipes had been found in the Northwest Territories, 15 to 25 of them with economic potential. Many large diamond companies continue to explore the significant diamond potential of the Northwest …show more content…
Although South Africa produces the most diamonds, many of them are for industrial and technological uses. Currently, Canada is the third top producer of diamonds for rings behind Botswana and Russia. One of the great things about this mine is they have gone a long way towards making Canada 's indigenous people, Indians and Eskimos, quite wealthy. The mines provide high-income jobs with an average salary of $63,000. These are permanent jobs that are currently handled by aboriginal peoples such as the Dene First Nation. When you buy Canadian diamonds you are also supporting an indigenous culture (Bryson Burke,