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 ore and acid washed, they are sorted and shipped to Perth for further sorting and sale. A significant quantity of diamonds are cut in India, where low costs of labour allow small diamonds to be cut for a profit; this is especially relevant to the Argyle mine, which on average produces smaller rough diamonds than other mines do. The diamonds produced at the Argyle diamond mine are of an average low quality. Only 5% of mined diamonds are of gem quality, compared to a worldwide average of 20% (Author Janine Roberts contends that the "near-gem" quality rating is subjective and