Diamonds: Selected Information
KT

The deal that breathed a second life into Yellowknife's first diamond finishing plant could end up costing taxpayers up to $2 million. N.W.T. Finance Minister Floyd Roland says the total cost of the deal to purchase Sirius Diamonds is still being calculated, but he says says it proves that diamond cutting in the North can be profitable. "It's been a fairly difficult process as a government, and looking through this and the questions about if in fact government should be involved in something like this, we've got another plant that is continuing to operate which, I think, shows that the secondary industry is a viable industry in the Northwest Territories," he said. Sirius Diamonds went into receivership last year, shortly after the government had to pay off $8 million in loans it had guaranteed for the company. On Tuesday, the government announced that it had agreed to a deal that would see the company purchased by the owners of Arselanian Cutting Works. Arselanian also operates a diamond cutting and polishing factory in Yellowknife.