North of 60 Mining News - The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

Tahera Corp. is within sight of operating the first diamond mine in Canada's Nunavut Territory.

The Nunavut Impact Review Board has recommended approval by Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Andy Mitchell of the Jericho project, about 210 miles southwest of Cambridge Bay, near the Northwest Territories border.

Toronto-based Tahera has indicated construction of the C$50 million mine will begin in 2005 and the first diamonds will be produced later that year.

Based on proven reserves, the mine and processing plant will have an eight-year operating life.

Jericho is scheduled to be Canada's third diamond mine after the Ekati and Diavik projects in the Northwest Territories that are about 250 miles and 105 miles, respectively, south of the Jericho site. The Snap Lake project in the Northwest Territories is expected to come into development in the next few years.

Jericho is expected to employ up to 60 people during the mine and plant construction, 120 in its open pit operation and 40 to 50 in its underground mine and processing plant.

Inuit to fill 60 percent of jobs within five years

Tahera has promised to hire Inuit to fill 60 percent of the jobs within five years - a goal company Vice President for Nunavut affairs Greg Missal said is "very aggressive."

He said Tahera will encourage its contractor to maintain the same Inuit employment level.

An agreement-in-principle has been signed with the Inuit community to cover training, education and business opportunities.

A year ago Tahera made an important step forward by signing a deal with Lazare Kaplan International that would see the New York-based firm purchase and market Jericho diamonds.

The deal gave Lazare the right to purchase 100 percent of the mine's production with an expected annual value of US$36 million, while Tahera retained an option to market as much as 25 percent of the production independently.

Tahera also negotiated a 50-50 joint venture with Lazare for polishing the diamonds, including special stones of 10.8 carats and larger.

Tahera Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Gutnick said the deal was important recognition by a boutique diamond company of the quality of Jericho diamonds.

The hope is that final approval for Jericho will stimulate exploration by other companies in the region, such as Diamonds North Ashton Mining and Kennecott, along with two of the world's largest explorers.

Nunavut issued a record 1,518 prospecting permits last year covering more than 64 million acres, compared with just 190 permits in 2002.

De Beers Canada Exploration snapped up the biggest chunk, securing 633 permits covering 28 million acres, while BHP Billiton Diamonds was granted 394 permits covering 16.4 million acres.