Joe McWilliams
For South Peace News

There might not be much going on in the diamond exploration line in the Buffalo Head Hills these days. But a company that recently gained 100 per cent control of mineral rights in that area hopes to change that.

Star Diamond Corporation, based in Saskatoon, Sask., bought out Canterra’s 50 per cent stake in what they call the Buffalo Hills Project, a move announced in July of this year.

It is not news that diamonds have been found in that area. Ashton Mining started taking core samples from kimberlite pipes back in 1997. They found diamonds, too, but evidently never in quantities that justified setting up a commercial extraction operation.

Canterra subsequently took over the leases, but according to Star Diamond CEO Ewan Mason, they’d “lost interest in diamonds,” in the meantime.

What sparked Star’s interest was a decision in early 2023 to take a look at the bulk samples Canterra had. It was quite the eye-opener.

“We were astonished to find not only anomalous levels of Type 2a diamonds in the sample,” Mason said in a news release, “but also a presence of fancy yellow diamonds. . .”

The idea coming out of that, as Mason explains, is to take an even bigger bulk sample of ore from the 38 kimberlite pipes, and get it analyzed. It will be done at the company’s facility at Fort á la Corne in Saskatchewan, where it mines for diamonds.

When the bulk sampling will actually take place is a good question. Not right away, at any rate.

“It’s not on the front burner right now,” Mason says. “No one cares about diamonds at the moment, but when they (prices) turn around. . .”

Mason adds the company didn’t buy the property just to sit on it. And he’s confident diamond prices will rise, because they always do. And when they do, it’s easier to attract investment.

“We would love to get up there and blast away,” Mason says.

What is kimberlite?

Kimberlite is a type of igneous rock, named for where it was discovered or identified, in South Africa. It’s generally where diamonds are found.

Kimberlite was formed millions, or even billions of years ago, when lava, thrusting upward, cooled and hardened. It exists in formations called pipes due to their shape. Sometimes they stick out of the surface of the Earth; many others are hidden beneath the surface, but can be found by equipment that picks up magnetic anomalies. Both types exist in the Buffalo Head Hills, northwest of Loon Lake.

According to a 2011 report for the Energy Resources Conservation Board by D.R. Eccles, interest in minerals other than oil and gas in north central Alberta perked up in the mid-1990s. That was after the Alberta Geologic Survey found a bunch of garnets that suggested something unexpected. That same year, Alberta Energy Company, doing seismic work in the area, turned out some anomalous results. The company wasn’t looking for kimberlite pipes, but thanks to what Eccles’ calls “an astute geologist” working for AEC, by the name of Pryde, two and two were put together.

AEC engaged Pure Gold Minerals and Ashton Mining to look into it. Ashton did the work, starting with high-res magnetic surveys, by helicopter. They liked what they found, and started drilling. Diamonds were confirmed in April 1997.

Ashton spent around $30 million on the project, without ever getting to the point of commercial mining. It sold out its interest in 2007 to a couple of companies, one of which became Canterra. As noted, it was Canterra’s share that Star Diamond recently bought.