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
Melnikov Permafrost Institute opened in 2012. Melnikov Permafrost Institute Melnikov Permafrost Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Science () is a research institute based in Yakutsk, Russia. It was founded in 1960. Method for Determining Air Content in Frozen Soil, Method and Apparatus for Determining Volume and Density of Soil Particles, Apparatus for Heat Exchange of Liquids and Gases, Method for Determining Frost Heave during Active Layer Freezeback, Pile for Permafrost, Device for Cooling Permafrost Soils, Method for Production of a Pile Foundation for Permafrost, Device for Stabilization of Indoor Temperature and other. Cryo-storage of seeds of rare and