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North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NSDM) |
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CEOCFO Current
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This is a printer friendly page! A
strong management team and one of the world’s foremost satellite imaging area experts
has North Star Diamonds successfully developing diamond exploration projects in the
Ukraine and Canada BIO: Mr. Stunder: “I am a gemologist and have been in diamond exploration for fifteen years. I am probably one of the few gemologists that are into the exploration business as I always wanted to look for diamonds at the source. I worked for some major companies exploring for diamonds in the Soviet Union because I speak both Russian and Ukrainian. However, when some of the projects didn’t go well there, I decided to start my own company. I took over a company that was already trading on the pink sheets, and we renamed it North Star. I vended in some very good properties located in Ukraine. Some of our shareholders have asked us to start in Canada because Canada is producing 12% of the world’s diamonds and in 20 years, Canada is expected to produce up to 50%. Definitely the action is in Canada, so we moved into Canada to take advantage of the situation.” CEOCFOinterviews: How do you decide where you should be looking? Mr. Stunder: “It is very simple and a matter of economics. The diamonds in Canada have been found in the far north. When your start dealing north of the Arctic Circle, it is very difficult to operate and your costs are very high. In Ukraine, most of our kimberlite was found just off paved roads, so we thought we would look for the same type of places in Canada and the United States. We found some potential kimberlite, just off the TransCanada Hwy, which is the main road east and west in Canada. We hired some satellite imaging companies to look for them, and that is how we found them. We tested for indicator minerals, and they are there, so we have the best of both worlds.” CEOCFOinterviews: How much of this is intuition and how much is science? Mr. Stunder: “Diamonds have been found to the west of us and diamonds have been found to the northwest and diamonds in the U.S. to the south of us. We are right in the middle of it, and there is good geo science involved as well. We are on the edge of a Superior Craton and cratons are generally diamond producing areas. We are sort of the Christopher Columbus of the area; we picked up this area because no one else thought of looking there.” CEOCFOinterviews: What is the process that you need to go through, and where are you in that process? Mr. Stunder: ”First we have to locate the kimberlite structures, which we did through satellite imaging and then we did the ground-work and the geo physics with magnetometers at an area. That is precise work and needs to be done on the ground to find out where the center of the anomalies is. As of December 16th (2003), we started drilling our first four targets and it is going well. We will be finished on the 20th of this month, drilling the first four targets.” CEOCFOinterviews: Where will you go from there? Mr. Stunder: “We will take the core down to the laboratories to have it analyzed. If the core contains diamond indicator minerals or associated minerals, we will continue the exploration program.” CEOCFOinterviews: What are you doing in the Ukraine now? Mr. Stunder: “In Ukraine we completed our drilling program, but they do not drill in the winter there because of the antiquated equipment. We have taken the cores to the lab and we have the results, which are very good. We found over 141 micro diamonds. We have found some macro diamonds, which means they are over one millimeter in diameter. We will be working on the same area next year and will have a drill program organized by the end of January to look into Ukraine as well.” CEOCFOinterviews: You mentioned antiquated equipment in the Ukraine; do you rent equipment or what are the physical needs of drilling there? Mr. Stunder: “In Ukraine, we drill on a per-meter contract. The equipment belongs to the government and we work with the government. We have purchased one of our own drills there and it is working very well; drills can be purchased very inexpensively.” CEOCFOinterviews: How are you funding the explorations? Mr. Stunder: “We keep a tight budget and work in areas that are very cheap to work in. In Ukraine the geologists get about 125 dollars a month and the drillers get even less, so labor makes up the major portion of the cost. In Canada, we are drilling just off the Highway and our drilling costs are approximately 23 dollars a foot, whereas if you start drilling in the far north, your costs are over 150 dollars a foot. We get a lot of bang for our buck and we don’t have to raise that much money. We are raising money through the normal process of doing private placements, and some of the investors are buying shares.” CEOCFOinterviews: What comes next? Mr. Stunder: “We have several majors looking over our shoulder now, and some of the majors have realized that we have some of the best land in Canada. We may be forming joint ventures with some of the major companies. Funding is not going to be a problem. We are looking forward to establishing a cash flow through the sale of cut diamonds; this is something that will be announced early in the next year. One of the major diamond cutting companies is interested in funding our exploration program, and they are going to make their stock of diamonds available to us to sell over our website. Our website is well advertised and well accepted. We have other plans already to make North Star Diamonds a company that that is sustaining a good cash flow.” CEOCFOinterviews: It sounds like you have things covered in all areas! Mr. Stunder: “This is what the investors want; they don’t want a one-shot deal, where if we don’t find diamonds, we run out of money and everything goes down the drain. I have been at this awhile and I am over sixty with a lot of experience. I think we are building a company in which the shareholder gets very good results.” CEOCFOinterviews: Are there other properties you are looking at in Canada that are close by? Mr. Stunder: “Yes, we are offered properties virtually on a daily basis. There are several companies in Alberta and Saskatchewan. We have diamond properties offered to us in South America, Sweden as well as Africa. We have no shortage of picking up the best deals.” CEOCFOinterviews: You mentioned that Canada will be the biggest diamond producer, tell us a bit about the diamond industry in general and where North Star fits it. Mr. Stunder: “The industry in Canada is very new, we just started producing diamonds a few years ago, and we are already producing 12%. The momentum is with Canada now, and in the future Canada may be producing up to 50%. We have gotten some of the best territory on the superior Craton, which is one of the largest Craton and makes up about 23% if the world’s Craton. We have approximately fifteen more targets to drill immediately and we are well funded already. North Star Diamonds is going to be a major player. The results have been positive and we have immediately become one of the major players in Canada.” CEOCFOinterviews: Does the interest in diamonds in general and exploration in particular, fluctuate in terms of the world economy? Mr. Stunder: “Diamonds are a women’s best friend and as long is there are women around, there will be a good market for diamonds. Economically there is quite a bit of fluctuation in the market, although the diamond industry is short of good rough diamonds now. I went to the Rapaport Diamond Conference in New York in November (2003) and the indication was that the rough diamonds are going to be in short supply. There is always some area of the world, which is in very good shape. Presently, the United States is doing well, Asia is coming back and Europe is always relatively stable, so there will be a good market for diamonds in the foreseeable future. Diamonds are well established as the choice when it comes to jewelry. The diamond market in general is very positive in the future.” CEOCFOinterviews: Once you find the diamonds, how long is the process before you have something in your hands to sell? Mr. Stunder: “It is usually about a four or five-year process. In the northern Canada where they started out, it took about six years from the time they found them, to the time they actually came out of the ground. The processing of diamonds is a benign process; we don’t have to use any kind of chemical. It is strictly crushing the kimberlite in which the diamonds are found, making it into powder and screening the diamonds out. There are various processes of taking the diamonds out of the ground but it is simple because there are no chemicals or complicated processes.” CEOCFOinterviews: You mentioned that in the mean time, you have some other plans for North Star to be sort of a diamond center, is that correct? Mr. Stunder: “Having received my degree in gemology back in the 1970s; I used to operate several major jewelry stores, so I have made good connections. In addition, some of the major cutters of diamonds saw our website, how well it is operating, how well it is advertised and became interested in working with us. We are approaching 6000 shareholders now, which for a small company is a large amount. With approximately 3000 people visiting our website every week, our plans are to sell diamonds on our website. Our diamonds will be graded by GIA (Gemological Institute of America) or the European Gemological Society. People will feel very comfortable purchasing diamonds from us on the website and that will give us a cash flow as well as possibly providing funding for our exploration process.” CEOCFOinterviews: What do you see as your challenges for the future? Mr. Stunder: “Vertical integration is the main process right now and we will be a vertically integrated company. Companies like Tiffany’s have already invested into exploration of diamonds, so we have to start out our vertical integration at an early stage. If you try to vertically integrate, once you get very large, it costs a lot of money. We have two main challenges; number one is finding a good diamond supply, which we have already done for our retail market. We think that we have some of the best properties in the world when it comes to exploring for diamonds. The other is diamond cutting, I am very familiar with that and know more about diamond cutting than I do about diamond exploration. If we find diamonds and we have a good retail market, then the cutting plan is just a natural part of the chain.” CEOCFOinterviews: Why should investors be looking to North Star as opposed to some of the other companies out there? Mr. Stunder: “North Star Diamonds has a very good management team. We have a slow burn out rate; that means that our over-head is very low. We are under valued in the market as far as I am concerned. Plans are to become fully reporting in early 2004 and apply for OTC:BB listing. We have some of the best people and we have one of the world’s foremost satellite imaging area experts, and he has pointed out where we should be going. Since the early 1970s I have been interested in diamonds and have a vast knowledge of the type of area where and what we should be looking for. I actually feel that we have the best management team in the industry for a small cap company. I feel the benefits of the approach we have taken will become apparent in the near future.” CEOCFOinterviews: In closing, what would you like readers to remember about North Star Diamonds? Mr. Stunder: “While we are a young company, we have a lot of experience. I think North Star Diamonds is a very good investment at this point.” disclaimers |
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To view Releases highlight & left click on the company name! NSDM SHAREHOLDERS DISCOUNTS ON PUBLISHED
DIAMOND PRICES BELLINGHAM, WA, September 22, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM) has now made available to shareholders discounts from the published diamond price list that is on the company’s website. Posted: 9/26/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
BELLINGHAM, WA, September 15, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM) is reviewing proposals of potential joint venture partners for development of several Manitoba diamond claims. Posted: 9/15/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
NSDM DIAMOND
SALES TO FINANCE DIAMOND EXPLORATION BELLINGHAM, WA, September 9, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM) is pleased to announce that it has reached a major milestone in its goal to become a vertically integrated diamond company. Posted: 9/13/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
BELLINGHAM, WA, August 12, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM) announces the off-line diamond marketing program to shareholders and potential shareholders has generated a very good response. Numerous calls and emails were received from interested diamond buyers. Posted: 8/17/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
BELLINGHAM, WA, July 29, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM) has reached an agreement with a major jewelry designer and manufacturer who has been in business for over 65 years to produce an exclusive line of diamond jewelry for North Star Diamonds, Inc. The firm, whose name shall be disclosed with our website launch, is very familiar with the manufacture and marketing of limited edition jewelry pieces. Posted: 8/3/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
BELLINGHAM, WA, July 14, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM), announces the engagement of Wells Fargo as the merchant to provide online banking and credit card facilities. North Star is now able to provide consumers with a safe and totally secure payment system for the sale of their premium diamonds over the internet. Posted: 7/16/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
BELLINGHAM, WA, July 8, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM), is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement with one of the major diamond cutters as its major supplier of diamonds to be marketed on the NSDM website. Posted: 7/9/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
BELLINGHAM, WA, June 30, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM), announce results for Phase 2, Wekusko Lake drill program. Posted: 7/1/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
BELLINGHAM, WA, June 24, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM), announces the acceleration of the diamond marketing program using the Internet as an e-commerce site for the sale of diamonds. Posted: 6/25/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
BELLINGHAM, WA, June 10, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM), announces that Mr. Alec Peck, C.A., has joined the company as Vice President - Corporate Development. Posted: 6/10/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
BELLINGHAM, WA, June 3, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM), would like to announce that Mr. Victor Sidic has agreed to become a member of the Advisory Board of North Star Diamonds, Inc. Posted: 6/6/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com NSDM COMPLETES PHASE 2 DRILL PROGRAM (WEKUSKO LAKE) BELLINGHAM, WA, May 27, 2004/PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/-- North Star Diamonds, Inc. (NQB Pink Sheets: NSDM), announces that Phase 2 diamond drill program near Wekusko Lake is now complete. The core from the three holes has been stored in the core storage facility in Snow Lake, Manitoba. Mr. Vic Sidic is preparing the geological report and logging the drill cores. Selected sections of the core will be sent to the SRC laboratory in Saskatoon for chemical and geological analysis, which should be ready in 2 to 3 weeks. Posted: 5/27/04 - CEOCFOinterviews.com
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