A diamond staking rush has entered its third year in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The discovery of diamond-bearing deposits has drawn the attention of the world. Financially supporting the flurry of staking, exploration, drilling and bulk sampling at lac de Gras, central mainland NWT are three of the world's largest international mining companies-BHP Minerals, Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) and De Beers. At stake are potential diamond mines worth billions of dollars. As the evaluation of gem diamond deposits with economic potential continues at Lac de Gras, the communities, businesses and government of the NWT are preparing for the opportunities that a mining region of this magnitude would offer Northerners. The NWT has grown through the development of its rich natural resources. It was fur in the 1920s, gold in the 1940s and oil in the 1980s. Will it be diamonds by the year 2000? The Department of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources of the Government of the Northwest Territories has resea

World-wide some three hundred million own at least one piece of diamond jewellery, and each year husbands, lovers and women themselves spend almost forty billion dollars on about sixty million pieces containing some fifteen million carats of diamonds.