The government of the Northwest Territories in Canada and the Antwerp World Diamond Centre jointly convened a special ‘diamond experience’ event in the Canadian Museum of Nature, on the occasion of the first visit by the Belgian Head of State to that country in over 40 years.
At the event, King Filip and Queen Mathilde of Belgium got a first hand 360-degree mine experience. They were guided through the different phases of the mining process, facilitated by an interactive exhibition that provided them in-depth information about diamond exploration, the mining process, the sorting of diamonds by size and quality and, last but not least, the impact diamond mining has on the area and the local community.
The aim of the event was to promote and profile the Northwest Territories as one of the leading diamond-producing regions in the world, with the royals as the primary audience, a spokesperson for the NWT government told the local media.
An AWDC statement issued on the occasion said that diamonds are the most important product in the trade relations between Belgium and Canada, representing 21% of all Canadian imports to Belgium.
It added that the NWT region of Canada accounts for 10% of the world’s total diamond output in 2017, with three major diamond mines – Ekati, Diavik and Gahcho Kué. AWDC estimates that 60% of the total production of Canadian mines – worth about 860 million dollars – are traded directly on the Antwerp diamond market.
The royals also met representatives of the indigenous poeples of NWT who talked about sustainable use of natural resources and made a special cultural presentation, media reports said.
Pic caption: Belgium’s King and Queen with representatives of the NWT government and the indigenous peoples at the event
Pic courtesy: AWDC
News Source : gjepc.org
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