Come this March, however, the Northwest Territories will also become the home of the latest advance in ore milling, when Yellowknife's Frontier Mining Supply installs the unit at BHP's diamond mine, according to Frontier's Glen Zelinski.

"It's 22nd century technology," Zelinski explains. "It's brand new on the market."

The concept is simple: the finer you can grind any ore, the easier it is to extract the good stuff, whether it's metals like gold or gemstones like diamonds.

Built in North Sydney, Australia, the Hicom mill is the product of years of research into coaxing gemstones from their media. Using centrifugal force to separate the ore, the mill represents a leap in thinking.

"This thing generates 50 Gs (of gravitational force) within the unit as it's turning. And the diamonds are floated up in the system -- it's very unique," says Zelinski.

And although it's small, the unit packs an incredible wallop, according to Hicom, producing breakage rates typically "50 to 100 times greater than in conventional tumbling mills." This allows the mighty mite to process up to ten tons of ore per hour.

But, more than just making it easier to get at the treasure, the Hicom possibly has another positive benefit, says Zelinski.

"The true value of this thing is not just in diamonds. In gold mining, the finer you can grind the ore, the quicker you can extract the gold," says Zelinski. "This particular mill has an amazing ability to bring the grind down, and it can eliminate some of the problems of dealing with arsenic."

To that end, Frontier will be pitching the unit to gold mines soon, he says.