Diamonds North (DDN): This Canadian company is working on the Hepburn project mine, which Mr. Cook feels could be a world-class diamond deposit.

“It’s believed to be the best property in the Nunavut area,” he says. “Think of the value of Ekati or Diavik (Canada’s two largest diamond mines) – that’s the goal.” Mr. Cook acknowledges that this is a highly speculative play. “It’s a home-run or nothing,” he says. The company has $12-million on hand – enough to last through only next year, he says.

What he’s betting on is that a recent set of drilling results is going to show that Hepburn has enough big diamonds to make it a world-class project. A report on the results is due within the month. Mr. Cook likes the fact that Diamonds North’s team has experience at Ekati. And he thinks CEO Mark Kolebaba could be one of the industry’s rising stars.

“He’s a younger guy, but he has great experience, and he’s very aggressive at getting the most out of money,” Mr. Cook says.

If the drilling pans out, Mr. Cook expects the big players will come running. BHP Billiton paid $687-million for 80 per cent of Ekati, while Rio Tinto’s 60-per-cent stake in Diavik was initially valued at $780-million. Mr. Cook owns shares in Diamond North.