Article content continued

“I am confident this project has met these requirements and the conditions of approval will mitigate environmental and community impacts,” Duncan said more than four years after the company submitted its final environmental impact statement.

The announcement on Thursday marks a significant milestone for Star Diamond — formerly known as Shore Gold Inc. — which has been working to build a mine in the kimberlite-rich Fort a la Corne forest since the mid-1990s.

The project is expected to create hundreds of construction jobs, employ about 700 people once it is operational and return about $6 billion in taxes and royalties to the province over its expected lifespan of 34 years.

Star Diamond CEO Ken MacNeill said in a statement that he is “very pleased” that the proposed project has received approval, and that the decision marks a “major milestone” toward the development of a diamond mine in Saskatchewan.

The approval is likely also good news for Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Ltd., a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest mining firms that has the option to buy up to 60 per cent of the project in stages for a total of about $75 million.

Paul Zimnisky, an independent diamond industry analyst based in New York, said that while concerns about capital expenditures remain, the approval is likely the “last piece of the puzzle” when it comes to Rio Tinto’s diamond-intensive plans.

“At this point, I think there’s a very high probability that it gets built,” Zimnisky said, referring to the company’s recent expressions of enthusiasm for the diamond industry.