Customer Reviews

Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North American Arctic

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Barren Lands by Kevin Krajick is epic nonfiction without artifice. The author does not create straw heroes or villains, but presents the story and its participants warts and all. The search for diamonds in North America is the story, and myriad searchers enter and exit during the tale's almost 500 years. The ultimate discovery of the source of North America's diamonds in the Canadian Arctic is the goal of the story. Charles E. Fipke, a person who presents a lot of reasons for the reader to dislike him, is the unlikely David in the story and De Beers, the company with a stranglehold on the World's diamond markets, is the Goliath.

Part of my interest in Barren Lands stems from my training as a geologist with an emphasis in mineral exploration. Part of the reason I became a high school earth science teacher has to do with my weakness at keeping scientific secrets. I knew that working for a mining or mineral exploration company would necessarily involve the nondisclosure of proprietary information and I knew that I couldn't do it. The tension between proprietary information and open scientific discourse is strongly portrayed in the book. Another reason for my interest comes from the fact that geology students of my generation were very aware of what these diamond deposits in North America should look like. I have been telling my 9th graders for years that somewhere in Canada there are some diamondiferous kimberlite pipes that have been glacially scoured and probably contain circular lakes, making them difficult to find. I have been telling them that someday someone would follow the diamonds in the glacial till covering northern North America back to the source of the diamonds. Barren Lands allowed me to enjoy the fact that at least one of the things I learned in college, and then passed on to my own students, was correct.

I cannot recommend this book enough. If you have an interest in geology, exploration, history, nature, and economics, this book should keep you up late at night as you eagerly read the book to its conclusion. A special recommend to anyone interested in being an exploration or mining geologist. Some mining is necessary and mining is necessarily a destructive process. Mining resources like diamonds and gold present a large challenge to any environmentally oriented person since most of the money to be made on diamonds and gold is for luxury items, things humans could do without.

Did you know that in about half of the states of the US people have found diamonds? Diamonds of more than two carats have been found, for example, in Ohio and Alabama, and finding them is often just child's play. Kids are the ones who pick these gems up, because kids are close to the ground and always looking for treasures. Finding a reliable supply of diamonds is much more difficult; the ones found on the ground are often chance deposits that were dropped when a glacier melted, but the glacier must have carried them from somewhere rich in diamonds. There aren't many such places, and it was a surprise that over the past decade, the Northwest Territories of Canada were deemed to be diamond mining country. The eerie, exciting, and disturbing story of how this came to be is told in _Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North American Arctic_ (Times Books) by Kevin Krajick. The lure of diamonds has proved inescapable for a certain class of men for centuries, and Krajick's book tells about some of them he met while he did his research.

The Barren Lands (yes, that is the designation you will see on maps) is a half million square mile region as far north as Americans can go. There are no roads and no people, and it is called barren because it is above the northern limits which trees can reach, Since diamond exploration has started, however, it could well be populated with workers producing gold, uranium, and other minerals. At the heart of the story of exploration here is Chuck Fipke, a weird little guy who does nothing to improve the image of geologists. When Fipke was in charge of a prospecting expedition, he drove his men ruthlessly, especially his own son with distressing ferocity ("When you're not eating or sleeping, you're working for me."). Fipke was just one of a long line of explorers to the region, and their history is well covered here. The unbelievable hardships of traversing the area, or working in it, are well described in many sections of the book; bears, mosquitoes, and deerflies all supply annoyance or danger. Then there were the people. Fipke could not keep his operation secret for long, and DeBeers and other mining firms shouldered in. Fipke's team painted the plywood cubicles that held the drills with camouflage paint that would prevent detection from the air, and even ordered army-surplus camouflage nets to cover supplies. This was not paranoia; there were commercial spy planes making regular flights to see what was up.

The prospectors faced challenges from the environmentalists, who worried that the caribou, wolves, falcons, wolverines, and bears would get shoved aside by the industrialization of a previously pristine area, and the local tribes worried about water pollution, looting of artifacts left by their ancestors, and "perhaps most of all they worried that they might be left out of the profits." Barren Lands now has a hugely expensive mining factory, and will simply churn out millions of dollars worth of diamonds every year. There is a pressure to build roads and power lines to the site, which will mean more alteration of a basically natural area, but profits like these cannot be resisted. While Fipke and his partners are all now unimaginably rich, they are not unimaginably happy. Fipke alienated many of his crew, and shattered his family during the most intense of the mining preparations. He admits that putting all his energy into his mine had its price. "But that was _cool_! To do all that we did? It was _fun_!" It is not surprising that with this attitude, all the riches and all the family problems haven't made a difference: he is still out there looking for the next strike.

Geology is not usually one of my favorite topics. I remember slogging through John McPhee's interminable series of articles for The New Yorker and vowing to avoid the topic at all costs.

My attitude has changed radically since reading Kevin Krajick's book Barren Lands. Somehow, he has managed to convert a dry topic into a thrilling adventure narrative, weaving hundreds of years of history into this story about the idiosyncratic characters who prospect for diamonds.

I highly value my sleep, but I actually stayed up late to finish this book. My only criticism is that I would have liked to see photographs of the driven, eccentric characters that populate the book, and the actual landscape they prospected.

In my work as a lapidarist (rock and gemstone cutter), I have heard many anecdotes and personal accounts regarding discovery of commercially viable gemstone deposits. Some of the tales have been backed up by fact, (certainly a minority), and many many more were either embellishments, or entirely untrue. The astonishing aspect of the Barren Lands is: The tale is all true. And the wealth generated by the discoveries is so enormous that it will be many years before the full magnitude is known. Mr Krajick has written a gripping account of the quest for mineral wealth with the attendant hardships, oddball personalities, and personal trials that make prospecting a dubious career choice for most of us. It is the kind of tale I have dreamt about since I was a small boy. (and I'm still dreaming) Read the book and be carried away!

...is certainly not always gold...or diamonds for that matter. This book, however shines from cover to cover. There is something for everybody in Mr.Krajick's book Barren Lands. In dealing witht the overall subject of the 400+ year search for diamonds in North America, the author took me through a graphic history of adventure, intrigue and science. Krajick's style of story telling brings the tale of the search for diamonds thru-out the world to life and kept me rivited page after page. After reading of how some folks just stumbled across diamonds in their back yards I will probably always have one eye to the ground from now on.

The more recent North America activities of Fipke and Blusson, around whom much of the book revolves, is told in a personal and intimate manner, as only an author with first hand experience and contact could have related. There is also a good dose of the author's wry sense of humor and irony thrown in throughout his book. Please take special note of his tips on how to use a port-o-potty in 40 degree below zero weather on the tundra.

Probably the best book since reading Stephen Ambrose's book about Lewis and Clarke, Undaunted Courage. My only disapointment was reaching the last page.

Wow what a great story. Krajick manages to somehow intricately weave the history, science, and business of modern prospecting in a very fluid manner. How he kept it all together is really outstanding. I would recommend this book to anyone with even a passing interest in Geology or the arctic. He begins with a fascinating history of exploration in North America, of Diamonds in particular. (His account of Samuel Hearne's journey across the barrens was alone worth the price of the book). He lays out a story of a few average but interesting men and their unrelenting search a North American diamond source. For a science journalist he was very adept at letting the reader get to know all the characters in this story, some of them very flawed individuals. But somehow I was rooting for them and kept turning pages to see if they would succeed. It's as much story about human nature than anything else.

I have recently purchased and read the book, Barren Lands, by Kevin Krajick, and have enjoyed it immensely. Its a great tale of exploration history, geology and obsession all woven into a thrilling page turner. It starts with the travels of Jacques Cartier in the mid 1500's, and carries the reader to the present day, all the while weaving in the wild but true stories of bribery, fraud and espionage that from day one, have been associated with the search for diamonds. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a thriller, the great outdoors, and history. Its a finely crafted investigation of America's grand obsession with diamonds.

Kevin Krajick provides readers with an astounding review of the historical activities that led to the discovery of North America's first major diamond mine. I was amazed at the depth of his research - he knew of historical facts that I thought only myself and one or two others were aware of. It is a pleasing historical novel that will keep you up late reading every night. I have one word to describe this book - 'excellent'!

An extraordinary account leading to one of the greatest geological discoveries in the 20th century! Kevin Krajick really did his homework for this book. I've been in the diamond exploration business for 25 years, and I was impressed by the research that went into Barren Lands. This book will keep you up late every night - it is very difficult to put it down. An excellent read!

-----------------------------------------------------------

Rating: "A" -- the obsession, hard work, heartbreak and good luck
required to make a multi-billion dollar discovery. Highly
recommended.

This is the story of the discovery of the Ekati diamond mine, in the
Barren Lands of the Northwest Territories, by Chuck Fipke, Hugo
Dummett, and others.

Hugo Dummett signed on with Superior Oil in 1978 to prospect for
diamonds in North America, just as the science of using indicator
minerals -- pyrope garnets, chrome diopside and chromite -- for
diamond exploration was being worked out. Superior started
prospecting around Arkansas's Crater of Diamonds -- now
inconveniently a State Park. Hugo and Mike Wolfhard hired Chuck
Fipke and his crew to sample the area. Lots of fun with jungly brush
and shotgun-toting landowners... Hugo even tried to sweet-talk Gov.
Bill Clinton into leasing him the park!

Fipke is a poster child for the space-case prospector-geologist, but he's
smart, has a sharp eye and was an *amazingly* hard worker. But a
*terrible* boss -- he drove his workers to exhaustion, and wouldn't
take elementary safety precautions, even on helicopter-supported
work. It's remarkable he didn't kill anyone [note 1].

The road to Ekati was not direct. Superior's exploration program (and
their competitors') went down the usual side tracks and dead ends --
including rediscovery of the salted site of a 19th century diamond
fraud. Then -- just as Fipke & company were developing some truly
good-looking Barren Lands prospects -- Mobil Oil bought Superior,
and summarily axed all Canadian exploration. Thud.

Fipke and Dia Met scrambled for money from family, friends and
penny-stock speculators, raising enough to stake a sizeable claim-
block near Lac de Gras, in the trackless barrens a couple hundred
miles northeast of Yellowknife. Then the money was gone, and none
of the pros were interested in Dia Met's "moose pasture." Bankruptcy
loomed -- but Dummett landed a new job with BHP, with a healthy
budget, and he quickly leased the Fipke-Dia Met ground.

Word of the BHP deal brought De Beers, Corona and others into the
area, but the *real* excitement started when BHP's first drillhole
found diamonds -- lots of diamonds! Despite strenuous secrecy
efforts, the word got out -- as it always does -- and the Great Diamond
Rush of 1991 was on! Tundra was staked by the township, and Dia
Met stock, which sold for 50c. a share in mid-91, hit $67 by the end of
1992. Fipke and his partners were paper billionaires.

The Ekati mine was commissioned in late 1998. Capital cost was
US$700 million. Sales of US$448 million (FY 2001) yielded gross
earnings of $285 million (!, EBITDA = earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation & amortization = gross profit). Mine life is expected to exceed
25 years.

District exploration costs (1989-98, Ekati-Diavik district, all companies)
exceeded US$500 million(!). A second mine, Diavik (Rio Tinto-Aber),
inconveniently located directly under Lac de Gras, is scheduled to go
into production in 2003 at an estimated capital cost of US$885 million.
Serious money is involved here. [Financial data from BHP 2001
annual report, and various web reports. Don't expect much financial
information in the book. Google is your friend.

Fipke & his longtime partner, geologist Stewart Blusson, each retain a
10%(!!) interest in the Ekati mine. (Blusson later gave $50 million to
UBC, his alma mater). When the big bucks rolled in, Fipke's marriage
fell apart, his brother sued him (as did many others), and his son
stopped speaking to him. The Big Strike had its costs.

The book's meandering start might put you off, but don't be
discouraged -- Krajick has a fine story to tell, and once he get's rolling,
this is strong stuff. No geologist who's worked in exploration -- or
anyone with a taste for an old-fashioned strike-it-rich story -- should
miss this one .
____________
Note 1) There was fatal helicopter crash at the BHP camp in 1992,
while Fipke was project manager. The apparent cause was pilot error
-- flying without reeling in the sling-line -- but Fipke wasn't directly
involved.

Happy reading!
Peter D. Tillman
Consulting Geologist, Tucson & Santa Fe (USA)