http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2007/04/04/Queen-of-Diamonds/ http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2007/04/04/Quee... "...in July 2000, wh

http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2007/04/04/Queen-of-Diamonds/ http://www.portfolio.com/executives/features/2007/04/04/Quee... "...in July 2000, when the famously secretive South African company announced it would stop its efforts to control the world’s diamond supply. In a glorious understatement, chairman Nicky Oppenheimer later explained the decision: 'As new sources of supply opened up—particularly in Canada—it became evident that that role could not be sustained.'" The BHP Billiton group and Rio Tinto were big players in the Australian discovery mentioned near the end of the Atlantic article.