Stornoway Diamond Corp. has taken a crucial step towards building Quebec's first diamond mine. The Vancouver-based company announced this week that it has reached a pre-development agreement with First Nations leaders to work together to develop the Renard diamond project. The pact with the Grand Council of the Crees and the Cree Nation of Mistissini provides business and employment opportunities at Renard for the Crees, and the creation of a joint communications strategy. Stornoway hopes to get Renard into production in late 2013, and it is expected to produce 30 million carats of diamonds. The company is led by executive chairman Eira Thomas, right, who also discovered the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories.