According to Statistics Canada, the diamond rush in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut means Canada is now the third largest producer of diamonds in the world, behind Botswana and Russia. The agency said 15 per cent of the world's diamond supply now comes from Canadian mines, which before 1998 had zero production value. In 2002, it was just over $800 million.

"From 1998 to 2002, roughly 13.8 million carats have been mined, collectively worth $2.8 billion," the agency said Tuesday. "This is roughly a 1.5-kilogram bag of ice each day for five years, with each bag worth $1.5 million."

Diamonds were first discovered in 1991 at Point Lake near Lac de Gras in the Northwest Territories. Since then, two diamond mines have begun production in the NWT. A third is expected to be in production in 2005 in Nunavut and a fourth by 2006 in the NWT. These mines are dripping with diamonds that are high quality, according to StatsCan. That's showing in the price per carat of a Canadian-mined diamond, which in 2001 was $228.

"This was the third highest in the world, behind prices for diamonds mined in Namibia and Angola."

The boom in diamond mines is boosting the economy in the Northwest Territories, where the diamond mining industry accounts for one-fifth of its gross domestic product. The industry has also proved to be a steady employer. According to StatsCan, the number of employees directly involved in running the diamond mine jumped from just over 90 in 1998 to more than 700 in 2001. The pay is also good. The average salary from 1998 to 2001 was $61,639. The average was slightly higher for production employees at $64,336. Most of Canada's diamonds are exported to Belgium and the United Kingdom, where they are sorted through and sold to the rest of the world, including back to Canada.