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by Will Purcell

The diamond and specialty minerals stocks box score for Wednesday was a humdrum 75-79-156 as the TSX Venture Exchange rose three points to 618. The Ekati mine, already past its prime in 2012 when the late Bob Gannicott bought it on the cheap to transform his Harry Winston Diamonds Inc. into Dominion Diamond Corp. -- and near death's door when it sent Dennis Washington's privatized Dominion Diamond Mines Ltd. bankrupt in 2020 -- is finding new life in the hands of Australia-based Burgundy Diamond Mines Ltd. That, and a rebound in rough diamond prices, could augur well for Dr. Stewart Blusson's Archon Minerals Ltd. (ACS), which fell five cents to 10 cents on 5,000 shares when it last traded in late December.

Burgundy has been beavering away at rejigging the Ekati operation, looking to add years to a mine that was expected to close in 2019 without new kimberlites being brought into production. Mr. Gannicott and his crew added a few years of life to the mine and Mr. Washington made some progress, but in both cases the added life came mainly from restructuring operations at existing pipes -- moving underground or pushing back the pit walls.

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