In 1991, a then 20-something year old Eira Thomas set off to explore for diamonds in the Canadian North. This led to her being involved in the discovery of what was to become the Diavik Diamond mine - Canada’s second major diamond discovery and arguably one of the worlds richest diamond mines. Some 30 years later, Eira is still involved in the industry - nowadays she is the CEO of Lucara Diamond Company. Eira was kind enough to sit down with me and share some of her recollections of the Canadian Diamond rush, her subsequent nearly 30 year involvement in the industry and the often untold story of diamonds. This is part 1 of our 2 part interview with Eira.