There are 35 million carats of diamonds are sitting in the ground waiting to be plucked.
Shore Gold is another step closer to extracting those diamonds from the Fort a la Corne forest, east of Prince Albert.
The company has submitted an environment impact statement on the Star-Orion South project with the provincial government.
The massive document, which was more than six years in the making, contains 1400 pages of detailed information regarding the nature of the project and its impacts on nearby communities and the environment.
“It’s a very big step,” said George Read, senior vice-president of exploration with Shore Gold.
The document will now be reviewed at the provincial and federal level before the final permits are issued allowing construction on the estimated $1.6 billion mine to begin.
“(The government) will come back to us with certain, possible changes or requirements,” said Read, who anticipates the review process lasting about a year.
The timeline has construction starting in 2012, at the earliest, Read said. Before that, Shore Gold still has to make a final decision on the Star-Orion South project which is expected to happen in the early part of 2011.
Read said he is confident a production decision would be made.
The project was proven to be viable in a pre-feasibility study released last February.
bbosker@panow.com
