{"id":181982,"date":"2025-06-13T20:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T20:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/181982\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T20:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T20:31:12","slug":"korite-acquisition-in-alberta-creates-worlds-only-mine-to-market-ammolite-producer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/181982\/","title":{"rendered":"KORITE acquisition in Alberta creates world\u2019s only mine-to-market ammolite producer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bearpaw Formation in Alberta. Image from KORITE. <\/p>\n

When Alberta-based Buffalo Rock Mining acquired KORITE<\/a>, North America\u2019s largest producer of ammolite, it flew right under the mining industry\u2019s radar, even as the company\u2019s creations were featured in the New York Times.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

The acquisition, say Indigenous owners Tracy and Beth Day Chief of the Kainai Nation, reflects a revitalized vision for the company,\u00a0 in committment to ethical and sustainable mining. The value of the transaction was not disclosed, and privately-held Buffalo Rock Mining does not disclose mineral resource information.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ammonite extraction is one of the rarest and most delicate mining processes in the world, and KORITE established itself as the leading global producer, controlling 95% of the world\u2019s known ammonite reserves, and selling mainly into European and Asian markets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ammolites are rare, rainbow coloured gemstones derived from the fossils of ammonites \u2014 extinct marine mollusks from the dinosaur-era. Ammonite fossils are mined solely in south-central Alberta to produce the organic gemstone ammolite.<\/p>\n

The Blackfoot peoples recognize ammonite\u2014which they call \u201cIniskim\u201d meaning\u00a0 \u2018Buffalo Healing Stone<\/a>\u2019\u2014as a sacred stone that brought prosperity. The only known reserves in the world are in the Bearpaw formation, which spans the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the US state of Montana.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ammolite fossil. Image from KORITE<\/p>\n

KORITE has been in business for 45 years<\/a> and Buffalo Rock has been mining for over 20 years and the combined company employs about 30 people, including miners. The company owns the mineral rights from its flagship namesake mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Buffalo Rock was mining and selling rough stones to the market, while KORITE was cutting and polishing stones, sold both as preserved fossils and as art and jewelry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

KORITE\u2019 ammonite fossils retail online for up to C$120,000 \u2014 and one fossil sold on Christie\u2019s auction for C$250 000, according to president Amarjeet Grewal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe own 95% of the market share of the ammolite deposits in Alberta, and its only found in Alberta \u2013 you can\u2019t find this anywhere else in the world,\u201d Grewal told MINING.com<\/a> in an interview. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mine to market \u2013 not only the mining but cutting the gemstones [and] making jewelry. We have always been mine to market whereas Buffalo Rock Mining did only the mining part,\u00a0 so two different companies to the point that we were almost in competition,\u201d Grewal said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe didn\u2019t sell rough.. we cut the gemstones and finished jewelry whereas Buffalo Rock Mining weren\u2019t interested in finishing any gemstones \u2013\u00a0 they weren\u2019t supplying in volume to the market.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now that the company is vertically integrated, Grewal said the protocols to follow both at provincial and federal levels are rigorous, and the environmental standards are high.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe work with Heritage Canada <\/strong>because this is cultural property, so every piece of fossil that leaves the country needs a permit,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Buffalo Rock Mining has, on the reserve, another 30-40 years of mineral rights, Grewal said, adding that how many acres the company mines per year will depend on the supply and demand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While KORITE is well known in Asian markets, Grewal said the aim after the acquisition is to gain visibility in the Canadian market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn southeast Asia from a feng shui perspective ammolite is a holistic stone and it brings good luck and good energy so it\u2019s very well received, so that\u2019s our primary market,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Grewal also noted the irony of the company selling its Canadian fossils\u00a0 and jewelry in foreign markets while the brand is virtually unknown locally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re selling overseas and in your own backyard your neighbors don\u2019t know you exist,\u201d she noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Stay tuned as MINING.com tours the KORITE ammolite mine in Alberta with Buffalo Rock Mining on a site visit in July<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bearpaw Formation in Alberta. Image from KORITE. When Alberta-based Buffalo Rock Mining acquired KORITE, North America\u2019s largest producer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":181983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3091],"tags":[51,2441,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-181982","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-markets","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114677959354206053","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/181983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}