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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
In what is being described as the next step in diamond tourism, Crossworks Manufacturing Ltd. is building a diamond tourist centre in downtown Yellowknife.

The centre, which will invite residents and visitors to learn about the diamond industry from the exploration stages to diamond retail, will take over the Cascom store on 49 Street and is expected to open in January. The building is already home to the Crossworks diamond polishing plant.

"We hope that this centre will be a landmark in Yellowknife for many years to come," Crossworks president Uri Ariel said at a press conference at the site on Tuesday afternoon. The centre, which is to include exhibits of Northwest Territories diamond artifacts, videos detailing the processes at mines, and demonstrations of diamond polishing, will be a venue where people can learn about the diamond business and "see by themselves how things are transferred from Mother Nature's crystals to diamonds jewellery," Ariel said.

"A facility where visitors can observe how Northwest Territories diamonds go from mine to storefront will be an excellent attraction," Industry, Tourism and Investment Minister Bob McLeod said. "Crossworks' announcement today is yet another step in our territory's development of a sustainable diamond industry."

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said he sparked the idea of such a centre to reinforce the city's registered trademark, Diamond Capital of North America, when Crossworks opened its cutting and polishing plant in the city in 2008.

"This might be a good place to have the next step in diamond tourism," Van Tighem recalled telling the company.

"Which was the ability for tourists to actually see the process of how the little crystal turns into a shiny gem. And that's what's been announced today."

Construction of the $300,000 centre is scheduled to begin in October, and Crossworks spokesperson Dylan Dix said he is not aware of another centre of its kind in the world.

"I've never seen or done anything like this in the past," Dix said.

Several working names have been mentioned for the venue, including the Yellowknife Diamond Tourist Centre, and the Northwest Territories Diamond Centre.

The Crossworks name is not being used because the centre is meant to reflect all actors in the NWT mining industry, Ariel said.

"We would like to create a centre that everybody will share the success of the diamond story in the Northwest Territories," he said.

The targeted opening of the centre in the second week of January is meant to coincide with the aurora borealis viewing season.

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