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by Will Purcell

The diamond and specialty minerals stocks box score for Friday was a cheery 66-45-160. The TSX Venture Exchange jumped 11 points to 776 while polished diamond prices fell 0.2 per cent. Brian Testo's Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (GZD) fell one cent to 2.5 cents on 1.07 million shares. Grizzly has been as silent as a shadow about its Buffalo Hills diamond play in Northern Alberta since it staked more ground in June. Grizzly says it "has not conducted significant exploration work" on the play since 2008; investors would also be hard-pressed to find signs of insignificant work. Iamgold Corp.(IMG) jumped 43 cents to $2.39 on 5.53 million shares. Iamgold, which will sell its Niobec niobium mine for over $500-million, recently "transformed its corporate structure," transforming three senior vice-presidents into unemployed executives.

Shahe Sabag's DNI Metals Inc. (DNI), unchanged at two cents on 1.74 million shares, has a new CEO. Daniel Weir replaces Mr. Sabag, a geologist and CEO since 2002, who resigned. Mr. Weir "has spent 18 years on Bay Street" raising millions of dollars for mining companies, but he is finding Howe Street a challenge. (He is also a director of Mag Copper Ltd. (QUE: $0.01). Its stock has bumbled along near the one-cent mark since he arrived a year ago.) Mr. Weir is pleased to lead DNI in "the advancement of its current exciting projects" but it unclear if the excitement includes the Attawapiskat diamond play in Northern Ontario. DNI has a 10-per-cent-carried interest and has sat and watched its active co-venturers, Metalex Ventures Ltd. (MTX: $0.03) and Northcore Resources Inc. (NCR: $0.04), carry on the hunt. Metalex says it will no longer pursue the project and Northcore has been unable to take over Attawapiskat, which last saw drilling in 2010. Mr. Sabag recently confirmed that drill results "have not yet been announced" by its partners but he insists that earlier diamond finds "represent significant milestones" needed to "accelerate work toward development of the property." If so, Mr. Weir may have to take a more active role.

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