Charles E. Fipke

Charles E. Fipke Centre for Innovative Research at University of British Columbia's Okanagan campus.

Charles Edgar (Chuck) Fipke (born 1946) is a prospector who discovered the existence of diamonds around Lac de Gras in Canada's Northwest Territories. He is now a multimillionaire diamond magnate.

Biography

Fipke was born in Edmonton, Alberta. In 1970, he graduated from University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Geology.

Fipke, called, "Stumpy" and "Captain Chaos" by employees, had made finding diamonds in the north of Canada his singular goal since their discovery in late 1970s. A joint venture between Fipke's Dia Met Minerals and BHP-Utah in the 1980s and 1990s culminated in the establishment of Canada's first diamond mine, Ekati Diamond Mine, in 1998. Fipke and partner Stu Blusson each own 10% of Ekati.

Fipke was divorced by his wife Marlene, who had been with him since he began searching for the diamonds. This divorce at the time was Canada's largest divorce settlement with her portion of the assets estimated to be approximately C$123.1 million.^[1]

In 2006, Fipke donated C$6 million to the University of British Columbia to support the creation of a centre for innovative research.^[2]

Fipke breeds and races Thoroughbred racehorses. Tale of Ekati, named for his diamond mine, is his most successful horse.

References

1. ^ Doug Ashbury (2000-02-28). "Diamond divorce". Northern News Services. http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2000-02/feb28_00dia.html. Retrieved 2008-12-12. "As a result of a divorce settlement, Mrs. Fipke, wife of geologist Chuck Fipke, will control about 21 per cent of Kelowna-based Dia Met Minerals. As of Thursday morning, the stake was worth $123.1 million." 
2. ^ Charles E. Fipke Foundation Gives $6 Million

Further reading

• Kevin Krajick, Barren Lands: An Epic Search for Diamonds in the North American Arctic. 2001, Freeman/Henry Holt, ISBN 0716740265. Review at Smithsonian Magazine

Persondata
Name	Fipke, Chuck
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1946
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death