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The above statement (actually a more precise formulation of it) is due to Khovanskii. The proof is very elementary and beautiful, and is in Proposition 2 of this article.

The above statement (actually a more precise formulation of it) is due to Khovanskii. The proof is very elementary and beautiful, and is in Proposition 2 of Newton Polyhedron, Hilbert Polynomial, and Sums of Finite Sets.

Step 1: Without loss of generality we may assume that $\mathbb{Z}$-span of $D_j$'s equals the $\mathbb{Z}$-span of $C_i$'s. Indeed, it follows from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ample_line_bundle#Intersection_theory> Kleiman's criterion, and finite dimensionality of $N_1(X)$ that for every $m \gg 1$ and $\epsilon := (\epsilon_1, \ldots, \epsilon_N) \in \lbrace 1, 0, -1 \rbrace^N$, $D_{m,\epsilon} := mD_1 + \sum_{i=1}^N\epsilon_i C_i$ is ample. Choosing different values of $\epsilon$ and $m$ and adding $D_{m,\epsilon}$'s to the collection of $D_j$'s, we may ensure that $\mathbb{Z}$-span of $D_j$'s equals the $\mathbb{Z}$-span of $C_i$'s. Moreover, and this is essential, choosing $D_{m,\epsilon}$'s to be sufficiently close to the ray generated by $D_1$, we may ensure that $D$ still lies in the interior of the cone generated by $D_j$'s, i.e. $D = \sum_{j=1}^k r_jD_j$ with each $r_j$ being a positive real number.

Step 1: Without loss of generality we may assume that $\mathbb{Z}$-span of $D_j$'s equals the $\mathbb{Z}$-span of $C_i$'s. Indeed, it follows from Kleiman's criterion, and finite dimensionality of $N_1(X)$ that for every $m \gg 1$ and $\epsilon := (\epsilon_1, \ldots, \epsilon_N) \in \lbrace 1, 0, -1 \rbrace^N$, $D_{m,\epsilon} := mD_1 + \sum_{i=1}^N\epsilon_i C_i$ is ample. Choosing different values of $\epsilon$ and $m$ and adding $D_{m,\epsilon}$'s to the collection of $D_j$'s, we may ensure that $\mathbb{Z}$-span of $D_j$'s equals the $\mathbb{Z}$-span of $C_i$'s. Moreover, and this is essential, choosing $D_{m,\epsilon}$'s to be sufficiently close to the ray generated by $D_1$, we may ensure that $D$ still lies in the interior of the cone generated by $D_j$'s, i.e. $D = \sum_{j=1}^k r_jD_j$ with each $r_j$ being a positive real number.

Step 2: Let $e_1, \ldots, e_N$ be unit vectors along the axes in $\mathbb{R}^N$. For each $j$, $1 \leq j \leq k$, let $v_j := \sum a_{ji}e_i$, i.e. $v_j$ is the "coordinate" vector of $D_j$ for each $j$ (and therefore $v_j \in \mathbb{Z}^N$ for each $j$). Adding some big multiples of $D_j$'s to the existing collection of $D_j$'s if necessary, we may assume that $v := \sum r_j v_j$ is in the interior of the convex hull $P$ of $0, v_1, \ldots, v_k$.

Step 2: For each $j$, $1 \leq j \leq k$, let $v_j := (a_{j1}, \ldots, a_{jN}) \in \mathbb{R}^N$, i.e. $v_j$ is the "coordinate" vector of $D_j$ for each $j$ (and therefore $v_j \in \mathbb{Z}^N$ for each $j$). Adding some big multiples of $D_j$'s to the existing collection of $D_j$'s if necessary, we may assume that $v := \sum r_j v_j$ is in the interior of the convex hull $P$ of $0, v_1, \ldots, v_k$.