BC Business
The 1,111-carat diamond is the largest to be found in more than a centuryThe 1,111-carat diamond is the largest to be found in more than a century
Rock of ages Vancouver-based Lucara Diamond Corp. is living up to its tagline: “Where Bigger Is.” The company has found the world’s second-largest gem-quality diamond ever recovered and the largest ever to be recovered through a modern processing facility: 1,111 carats measuring 65 mm x 56 mm x 40 mm. It came from the south lobe of Lucara’s Karowe Mine in Botswana, the largest diamond ever from that country. “This historic diamond recovery puts Lucara and the Karowe mine amongst a select number of truly exceptional diamond producers,” said Lucara president and CEO William Lamb in a statement. “The significance of the recovery of a gem quality stone larger than 1,000 carats, the largest for more than a century and the continued recovery of high quality stones from the south lobe, cannot be overstated.”
Boats and planesAir Canada has announced new non-stop services between four key Canadian hubs and 12 U.S. cities beginning in May 2016, including daily Vancouver-Chicago and Vancouver San Diego flights and twice-daily flights between Vancouver and San Jose—likely related to the uptick in the tech sector in nearby Silicon Valley. The new routes will support Air Canada’s international expansion, which also includes an additional weekly flight between Vancovuer and Osaka Kansai from June 20 to August 16, 2016
By popular demand, Seattle-based Seabourn is launching 11-, 12- and 14-day cruises between Vancouver and Anchorage, Alaska, after a 15-year hiatus. The first one departs Vancouver, British Columbia on June 1, 2017, via the Queen Charlotte Sound, Ketchikan, Misty Fjords, Behm Narrows, Wrangell, Decision Passage, Sitka, Tracy Arm, Endicott Arm, Haines, Juneau, and Icy Strait Point in between. Seabourn’s “intimate” ships with no more than 300 suites are able to navigate where larger ships cannot follow. Rates start from US$7,999 per person.
Win win A 2015 BCBusiness 30 Under 30 winner, ShareShed founder Daniel Dubois, has been named Vancouver regional winner of the Global Student Awards. The judges included Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes; The Next Big Thing co-founder Meredith Powell; and Praveen Varshney, partner at Varshney Capital and past president of EO Vancouver. Dubois will move on to the competition in Toronto on February 4; the global finals are in Bangkok next May. With more than 1,700 competitors from more than 30 countries, EO GSEA is an opportunity for student entrepreneurs who actively run a business to make connections and find resources.