Posted by Sudbury Northern Life Reporter Bill Bradley
UPDATE - Ontario's first diamond cutting and polishing facility will be located in Greater Sudbury, creating 50 jobs.
Crossworks Manufacturing, part of the HRA-SunDiamond Group,
which qualified for a supply contract with De Beers' Diamond
Trading Company (DTC), will cut and polish an estimated $25
million worth of rough stones a year at the facility.
The stones will come from the Victor Mine, located 90 kilometres west of Attawapiskat First Nation on James Bay.
The facility is expected to be built by later this year, although a location has not yet been finalized.
The announcement was made by Minister of Northern Development and Mines Michael Gravelle Monday.
"This is the first cutting and polishing facility of its kind in Ontario, creating 50 highly skilled jobs. Crossworks is a Canadian company, well respected in their field," said Gravelle, speaking at a Chamber of Commerce event at Bryston's on the Park in Copper Cliff.
"The establishment of our factory is a great beginning for us in Ontario and will put Greater Sudbury on the global diamond map. As a Canadian company, we are excited about the possibilities that this offers the jewellery industry, the City of Greater Sudbury, the province of Ontario and Canada," said Uri Ariel, president Crossworks Manufacturing Ltd, in a release.
Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci said he was excited about the news.
"The definition of Greater Sudbury has just been broadened. We are still the mining centre of excellence for the world, but we are expanding into the cutting and polishing of De Beers diamonds," said Bartolucci.
"We are getting into value added growth. That expands economic opportunity and jobs. This exciting initiative will provide new avenues of employment and expertise. It will enhance Greater Sudbury's reputation as a centre of mineral excellence."
Mayor John Rodriguez was also optimistic about the opportunities the new industry would bring the city.
"We are going to add value to a northern resource, some of the best diamonds in the world. I am looking at my crystal ball and I can see a cluster of industries around diamonds, necklace manufacturers for example, just as we have had a cluster of hundreds of companies develop around the major mining companies here," said Rodriguez.
The diamonds will come a source that is regulated, where the resource is tapped in a sustainable fashion and where local people in the area can benefit, said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said negotiations and been underway for almost a year between the companies and the city.
"I have to give credit to city staff such as Guy Labine, chair of the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation, his staff and many other people in this community. It was a group effort," he noted.
