Prime minister officially opens Tahera Diamond's Jericho mine in Nunavut

[tuvor]

CARAT LAKE, Nunavut (CP) - With a lone caribou on site bearing witness, Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially opened Nunavut's first diamond mine Thursday.

Harper said Tahera Diamond Corp.'s (TSX:TAH) $120-million Jericho mine will help bolster the northern economy by creating jobs and attracting investment. "Mines like Jericho are making Canada one of the largest and most important diamond producers in the world," Harper said outside the mine's processing plant, which towers over the tundra.

"There are currently 180 employed at this mine. This type of success will help build a new North, paving the way for new and exciting business enterprises.

The facility crushes and sifts through 2,000 tonnes of kimberlite per day to yield about 2,000 carats of diamonds.

http://www.940news.com/nouvelles.php?cat=23&id=81799

(Diamonds are much more glamourous than AIDS.)

[CHIMO]

1. Icy Rocks

[CHIMO]

2. Complaints of limited access as PM wraps up northern tour

Complaints of limited access as PM wraps up northern tour
Last Updated: Thursday, August 17, 2006 | 1:32 PM CT
CBC News

Stephen Harper is attending the opening of Nunavut's first diamond mine and meeting N.W.T. leaders on Thursday amid complaints of limited access to the prime minister on his northern visit.

After the afternoon ceremony at the Jericho diamond mine, about 300 kilometres north of Yellowknife, Harper heads back to the capital for a reception at the Legislative Assembly in the evening.

They were the last official stops on the prime minister's six-day visit to the region, which has included visits to all three territories to discuss Arctic sovereignty and economic development. Harper is scheduled to leave the North on Friday.

Harper has been meeting with aboriginal and territorial political leaders on his visit, which has been marked by much tighter security and more restricted access than Northerners are used to seeing around visiting dignitaries.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2006/08/17/harper-visit-north.html

[daleo]

3. In a related story:

International AIDS conference wrapping up

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/08/18/aids-conference.html

It is safe to go back south now, Harpie.