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by Will Purcell

The diamond and specialty minerals stocks box score for Thursday was a mediocre 42-57-167 as the TSX Venture Exchange fell 14 points to 707. Polished diamond prices were flat but Robert Gannicott's Dominion Diamond Corp. (DDC) hit yet another six-year high of $19.765, closing up 15 cents to $19.50 on 264,000 shares. Dominion, which has been generating higher revenues at Ekati and Diavik, needs a lot of cash to support two big new mine developments: Jay at Ekati and A-21 at Diavik. Guy Bourassa's Nemaska Lithium Inc. (NMX) gained three cents to 19 cents on 1.76 million shares. Nemaska has sold 8.8 million shares at 17 cents in support of its Whabouchi lithium project in Northern Quebec. Mr. Bourassa says the cash will help him "actively pursue ongoing discussions" with major end-users of lithium. His pursuit might be active but it also seems endless, perhaps because Whabouchi carries a $500-million capital cost.

Paul Brockington's Margaret Lake Diamonds Inc. (DIA: $0.23) has earned a 60-per-cent interest in Margaret Lake, a diamond project northwest of Gahcho Kue in the Northwest Territories. The company earned its interest by spending $1-million this fall on till sampling and geophysics on the 20,000-hectare property. Mr. Brockington, president and CEO, says the work gives him "confidence in the kimberlite potential of the property." He seems easily assured: Margaret Lake will not see the results of its work for another month or two. Margaret Lake's kimberlite potential has been promoted before. Previous explorers spent millions in the area, finding promising mineral chemistry and dozens of geophysical anomalies, but kimberlite discoveries were few and far between. If Mr. Brockington's confidence is borne out, Margaret Lake can earn another 10-per-cent interest next year by spending another $1-million. Drilling next year could do the job, assuming this year's work reveals targets supported by indicator mineral data.

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