"I think it was a very successful meeting," he said. "The quality of speakers was tremendous."

Guest speakers included Finance Minister John Todd, Power Corp. information director John Locke, who spoke on the computer glitch known as the year 2000 bug, and De Beers director George Burne.

Other speakers were Richard Coles and Roland Bailey who spoke about public-private partnerships and the Aurora fund respectively.

"The De Beers presentation was very informative. It gave insight into the history and how the company operates," Nelson, who's also the Power Corp.'s internal audits and environmental affairs director, said.

Burne, who lives in Vancouver, told members of the NWT Chamber of Commerce that De Beers regards itself as "guardian of the diamond business."

For decades, De Beers has controlled the market. It markets 70 per cent of the world's diamonds.

As example of the dramatic steps the company has taken to ensure diamonds remain a top commodity, Burne pointed to a corporate buyout in South Africa which occurred decades ago.

De Beers recognized one distribution channel was necessary to protect the industry, so he bought competitor Kimberley Central for what was then 5.3 million British pounds, about $300 million US dollars today.

Another example of strong action was De Beers' move during the Depression and in subsequent years. The company temporarily shut down its mines.

Burne, currently managing director of De Beers Canada Corporation, also said the North should concentrate on the mining aspects of diamonds.

"You have the resource," he said.

The North should use financial benefits gained from mining diamonds to invest in ventures it knows will work.

He warned that if companies force diamonds onto the market they will destroy it.

On value-added benefits, he said there is a misconception that $7 billion in world rough diamond sales translates into $52 billion in finished diamond sales at the retail level.

The value of the diamonds at the retail jewelry level is $12 billion -- not $52 billion, he said.

The market is currently depressed and Burne said supply is likely to exceed supply through 2002. Asian market turmoil could also make matters worse, he added.

Burne was appointed to De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. board in 1993 and to the Board of De Beers Centenary AG in 1994. He has been sales director of the Central Selling Organization, De Beer's diamond marketing mechanism.