Diamonds and Emeralds in B.C.’s Northeast

Friday, January 13, 2006 10:08 AM

Minister Responsible for Mining, Bill Bennett

New studies on the north east part of B.C. indicate the geology and conditions are consistent for the discovery of diamonds and emeralds. That’s the news from Minister Responsible for Mining, Bill Bennett. “Diamonds that come out of the Northwest Territories are marked with a polar bear, so we had better start thinking about what we want to put on the diamonds that will come out of northeastern B.C.” said Bennet.

With 650 mining exploration projects worth $200 million dollars, Minister Bennett says mining has become a sustainable industry in B.C. Of those exploration projects, Bennett says $32 million dollars were concentrated in the Prince George region, creating 800 jobs.

“Natural Resources drive the economy of this province, that is not to say other facets aren’t important, but I think everyone it is natural resources that drive the economy” says Bennett.

B.C. is under explored when it comes to mining says the Minister and mines currently occupy .03% of the BC land base. Still, says Bennett, the industry is currently worth $5 billion dollars and growth continues.

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