Canadian billionaire Jimmy Pattison has taken a 19 per cent stake in Canterra Minerals Corp. as diamond exploration rises throughout the country. Pattison is the head of a $8 billion company with interests in car dealerships and supermarkets, to name a few. He has previously invested in Canterra President and CEO Randy Turner’s other company, Winspear Resources. De Beers bought the company in 2000.
Canterra announced recently to expand exploration efforts in the region of NWT’s Slave Province, where three out of four of Canada’s diamond mines reside. The mines are Dominion Diamond Corp.’s Ekati mine, Dominion Diamond Corp. and Rio Tinto’s Diavik Diamond Mine, De Beers Canada’s Snap Lake mine. Canterra shares rose 25 per cent to 12.5 cents last week. CJ
