Ekati Diamond Mine and Stewart Blusson who had been prospecting in the region for almost ten years, having found kimberlite indicator minerals as early as 1985. The Point Lake kimberlite was determined to be uneconomic, but its discovery precipitated one of largest staking rushes in mining history, covering most of the area between Yellowknife and the Arctic coast. There are 156 known kimberlite pipes within the Ekati block of claims, including the Point Lake pipe. Ekati officially began operations on October 14, 1998, and was operated by BHP Billiton Canada Inc., a part of the BHP Billiton Group, the world's largest diversified resources
Argyle diamond mine Mine in Zimbabwe. The mine site covers about , stretching in a mostly linear shape about 1600 m (5,200 ft) long and 150 to 600 m (500 to 2,000 ft) wide. The mine is of open pit construction, and reaches about 600 m (1,900 ft) deep at its deepest point. The open cut closed in 2010. An underground block cave mine is currently under development, and is likely to extend Argyle's diamond production until 2018. The Argyle diamond mine is located in the Kimberley region in the far northeast of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is located to