• Age: 12
• Grade: 7

It is said that the sparkle from Canadian diamonds mimics the awesome and seductive radiance of the northern lights. Yet until 1991, no one thought diamonds could even be found in Canada—no one except geologists Chuck Fipke and Stu Blusson, who uncovered diamond-rich kimberlite in the Barrens at Point Lake in the Northwest Territories. Their spectacular discovery caused great excitement in international diamond circles and sparked the largest claim-staking rush in Canada since the 1896 Klondike gold rush.

 

The two geologists sank their lives and savings into their belief that they'd find diamonds in the Barrens, and the story of their quest is a dramatic tale of perseverance in the face of immense odds.

L.D. Cross is an Ottawa writer and member of the Periodical Writers Association of Canada (PWAC). Her business and lifestyle articles have appeared in publications such as Home Business Report, Modern Woman, WeddingBells, Fifty-Five Plus, enRoute, Aviation History, and Legion Magazine. She has won awards of excellence for features and for editorial and technical writing in the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Ottawa EXCEL, competitions.

 

Cross is also co-author of Inside Outside: In Conversation with a Doctor and a Clothing Designer, which is about achieving a lifetime of feeling good and looking good.

L.D. Cross' profile page

This book in the Amazing Stories series focuses on two courageous and enterprising geologists who discovered Canada’s largest diamond mine after years of painstaking surveys and secretive helicopter trips across Canada’s Arctic . . . Accounts of their hair-raising adventures and near-death experiences, including face-to-face encounters with a grizzly, and shocking helicopter malfunctions and float plane crashes, make this an intriguing and informative read. —BC Books for BC Schools

Treasure Under the Tundra: Canada's Arctic Diamonds

This book in the Amazing Stories series focuses on two courageous and enterprising geologists who discovered Canada’s largest diamond mine after years of painstaking surveys and secretive helicopter trips across Canada’s Arctic. Beginning with a brief historical timeline of explorers who first discovered Fool’s Gold in Canada, the author reveals how these “tears of the gods” and “the shards of stars” are formed. The two geologists, Chuck Fipke and Stu Blossom, are unlikely business partners, who endure physical and financial challenges while pursuing their search for diamonds. Accounts of their hair-raising adventures and near-death experiences, including face-to-face encounters with a grizzly, and shocking helicopter malfunctions and float plane crashes, make this an intriguing and informative read.

The book lacks sketches of geological cross sections.