Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- De Beers, the world's biggest diamond company, won the most new permits to explore Canada's territory of Nunavut amid a new diamond-staking rush gripping the country's frozen north, the Globe and Mail reported.

De Beers Canada Exploration Inc. received 633 prospecting permits covering 28 million acres, the paper said, citing the Nunavut Mining Recorder. A unit of BHP Billiton Ltd., which already controls the Ekati diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories, won the second-largest number of permits at 394, for 16.4 million acres.

The area covered exceeds by fourfold the staking frenzy that followed the discovery of diamonds in the Northwest Territories in 1991, gem hunter John Robins told the Globe. Officials in the Northwest Territories said they probably granted 600 permits, up from 200 last year, the paper reported.

Canada has two major diamond mines in Ekati and Diavik, a joint venture of Toronto-based Aber Diamond Corp. and Rio Tinto Plc. Both are in the Northwest Territories.

Diamond explorers line up around the clock staring on Dec. 1 to register for permits after scouring maps and pinpointing targets during the short arctic spring and summer, the Globe said. Robins said registering claims costs about 10 cents an acre, compared with C$1.50 ($1.12) to C$2 an acre to physically pound stakes into the ground.

To contact the reporter for this story: Erik Schatzker in Toronto at eschatzker@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 3, 2004 09:31 EST