Mike Botha
Encyclopedia
An master diamond cutter
, with close to four decades in the profession, Mike Botha’s training and subsequent career began in South Africa and has led him to Mauritius, Russia and Canada – from Vancouver to the Northwest Territories
to Saskatchewan
.
Botha worked as the occupational certification officer for the diamond industry in the Northwest Territories under the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and was also the technical consultant for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment for their Government Diamond Certification Program.
Botha led the Diamond Training Program at Aurora College
in Yellowknife. During his six year tenure with Aurora College, he developed and delivered programs, earning the college the Yves Landry Award for Outstanding Innovation in Education.
Incorporated by Mike Botha in Canada in 1998, Embee Diamond Technologies is an established authoritative diamond design, polishing and finishing source in Canada. Embee Diamond Technologies operates a diamond cutting and polishing atelier, wholesale loose diamonds and has plans to establish a diamond training academy for retail sales professionals and on-the-job training from its headquarters in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
He has cut and polished large diamonds including the Premier (baby) Rose diamond, weighing 353.9 carats (70.8 g) in its rough state.
In 1998, Botha was recruited to cut several large diamonds for Diagem International including two 100 carats (20 g) and one 314 carats (62.8 g) diamonds. These are the largest gems ever cut and polished in Canada to date.
In 2008, he relocated to Prince Albert on the promise of its diamond mining future.
He is married to Susanna and they have a daughter, Myra and a son, Evert.
Diamond cutting
Diamond cutting is the art, skill and, increasingly, science of changing a diamond from a rough stone into a faceted gem. Cutting diamond requires specialized knowledge, tools, equipment, and techniques because of its extreme difficulty....
, with close to four decades in the profession, Mike Botha’s training and subsequent career began in South Africa and has led him to Mauritius, Russia and Canada – from Vancouver to the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
to Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
.
Botha worked as the occupational certification officer for the diamond industry in the Northwest Territories under the Department of Education, Culture and Employment, and was also the technical consultant for the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment for their Government Diamond Certification Program.
Botha led the Diamond Training Program at Aurora College
Aurora College
Aurora College, formerly Arctic College, is a college in the Northwest Territories, Canada with campuses in Inuvik, Fort Smith and Yellowknife. They have learning centres in 23 communities in the NWT. The head office for Aurora College is located in Fort Smith.-Mission:*Aurora College is dedicated...
in Yellowknife. During his six year tenure with Aurora College, he developed and delivered programs, earning the college the Yves Landry Award for Outstanding Innovation in Education.
Incorporated by Mike Botha in Canada in 1998, Embee Diamond Technologies is an established authoritative diamond design, polishing and finishing source in Canada. Embee Diamond Technologies operates a diamond cutting and polishing atelier, wholesale loose diamonds and has plans to establish a diamond training academy for retail sales professionals and on-the-job training from its headquarters in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
He has cut and polished large diamonds including the Premier (baby) Rose diamond, weighing 353.9 carats (70.8 g) in its rough state.
In 1998, Botha was recruited to cut several large diamonds for Diagem International including two 100 carats (20 g) and one 314 carats (62.8 g) diamonds. These are the largest gems ever cut and polished in Canada to date.
In 2008, he relocated to Prince Albert on the promise of its diamond mining future.
He is married to Susanna and they have a daughter, Myra and a son, Evert.