Stornoway Diamond’s Renard Mine Has Positive Upside for Quebec Economy

Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX:SWY) was recently featured in the Globe and Mail, citing that Quebec’s first diamond mine – slated to open in July – “could be a boon to the economy in Northern Quebec, where gold mines have dried up and employment prospects are sparse”.

As quoted in the feature article:

Investors must still believe there are some legs left in diamond exploration, because Stornoway raised $944-million in financing up front for its Renard diamond project. The lump sum is a “suitable” amount for a project of its scale, says Mr. Sterck, although it’s gigantic compared to the size of Montreal-based Stornoway, which has a market capitalization of about $150-million. It’s also the biggest-ever project financing deal for a public diamond mining company, according to Matt Manson, CEO of Stornoway.

So how did a junior mining firm raise nearly a billion dollars? The strong backing from the Quebec government gave the project legitimacy when seeking investors, said Mr. Manson. Quebec holds about a 25-per-cent stake in the project, and the provincial government has been involved from the start: Quebec has held an ownership in the diamonds since they were were discovered through a Quebec-funded exploration in 2001.

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