HRA-SunDiamond is setting up the first diamond cutting and polishing facility in Ontario, Canada, according to the province's ministry of northern development and mines. The ministry said the factory, operated by SunDiamond's subsidiary Crossworks Manufacturing, will be completed later this year and will employ about 50 people.



Crossworks will receive rough diamonds from the De Beers Canada Victor Mine through SunDiamond, which is a Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Canada sightholder. The new facility will cut and polish an estimated $25 million worth of rough a year, the ministry said. DTC has pledged to supply 10 percent of its output from Victor to Ontario-based cutters and polishers.



'The Ontario government is following through on its commitment to create opportunity for value-added activities that will promote a vibrant diamond industry that could include trading, jewelry manufacturing, marketing, tourism and other activities,' said Michael Gravelle, minister of northern development and mines. Canada, which ranks as the third-largest producer of diamonds by value, recently launched its first diamond bourse, in Toronto, Ontario.