Shore Gold has spent the last decade working to prove the diamond mine is feasible, but the exploration company has a long road ahead before the precious stones will be profitable.

"I think people who have been big believers in this are just wishing this would come to pass," said Paul Martin, a business analyst in Saskatchewan.

Only one in 6,000 diamond exploration projects are proven to work and the Star-Orion South diamond project, in the Fort a la Corne forest near Prince Albert, is one of them, said a spokesperson for Shore Gold.

"To date, some $330 million have been spent to bring us to the point where we know that there is a viable diamond mine in Saskatchewan," said George Read, senior vice-president exploration and development.

But the tedious process of attaining an environmental permit has taken longer than expected.

"There was a review by both the federal and provincial authorities and they produced some 700 items or so that were required to be remedied," said Read.

"We have worked on all of those and remedied them and it has taken some time to get through all of that. We are now very close to being finished."

The company is charting new territory because there are no specific regulations in place for diamond mines in the province.

Aside from environmental obligations, a major financial partner is needed to get the project up and running.

"It's going to require a major investor to come in to put up the better part of a billion dollars to turn this from a prospect into a producing mine," Martin said.

"There aren't many players to do that, so if you've been a long-term investor in Shore (Gold), you're probably getting impatient," he said.

Last February, Shore Gold announced a downsizing of the company that affected the board of directors, the management and the staff because they were uncertain of how quickly they could finance the project.

"The world financial situation, particularly in Europe, did not look rosy then and still does not look rosy now.

"We elected to downsize our staff to a small group of confident staff who could get the work done," Read said, noting that once they find financing, they will expand the company again.

Last month, a group of Shore Gold shareholders expressed their frustrations at the annual general meeting in Saskatoon.

"It becomes very problematic to make an informed and intelligent decision as a shareholder when you don't have good information," said Dave Wright, with the SGF shareholders association.

For companies like Shore, it is not surprising that they have a high profile in Saskatchewan with a fan base that wants to invest in local projects, said Martin.

"You'll have those who are the super-believers, so they would go to the extreme of mortgaging a home," Martin said.

Shore Gold is actively pursuing various avenues -- a joint venture partner with deep pockets is the most desirable. A large portion of the cost comes from the machinery needed and there are equipment manufacturers that provide financing, not unlike a car dealership, Read said.

"There are many major mining companies around the world and interestingly they are descending on Saskatchewan because of potash. Once they're here, they'll start looking around to see if there are any other opportunities," Martin said.

"I am confident that there will be a diamond mine in Saskatchewan's future and I'm hoping it will happen sooner rather than later," Read said.