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
Mining in Western Australia worlds supply, which is, however, only one percent of the mines overall production. Apart from Argyle, there is only one other operating diamond mine in the state, the Ellendale mine, located 100 km east of Derby, which opened in 2002. Ellendale produces the rare yellow diamonds. In 2009, sale volumes for diamonds fell by 44 percent while the value of the industry in the state decreased by 53 percent in comparison to 2008. Eighty percent of all salt produced in Australia comes from Western Australia. Of the state's production, 77 percent, in turn, originates from Dampier Salt Limited's operations at