A recent diamond rush after a small discovery is unlikely to make development of Canada 's first diamond mine worthwhile . In fact , illegal mining began in May 1991 when a peace accord allowed freedom of movement . The De Beers cartel is trying to buy up the $ 1 billion a day in diamonds being smuggled out to preserve market stability , which it does by maintaining a buffer pool of diamonds and matching supply to demand . After 1980s speculators were bankrupted when recession forced them to sell diamonds faster than the government could buy them , it has prompted banks to discourage lending to speculators .
A recent diamond rush after a small discovery is unlikely to make development of Canada's first diamond mine worthwhile. In Angola, illegal mining began in May 1991 when a peace accord allowed freedom of movement. The De Beers cartel is trying to buy up the $1 million a day in diamonds being smuggled out to preserve market stability, which it does by maintaining a buffer pool of diamonds and matching supply to demand. After 1980s speculators were bankrupted when recession forced them to dump diamonds faster than the cartel could buy them, it has educated banks to discourage lending to speculators.