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
Baken diamond mine 100 cubic metres (3.38 mg/m³). There is a waste rock overburden of about 33 million cubic metres. Baken diamond mine The Baken diamond mine is a diamond mine located along the lower Orange River in South Africa. The mine is owned and operated by Trans Hex. The central processing plant has been operational at Baken since 2001. In 2004 the Baken mine produced ; average stone size for the year was . Notable stones from production in 2004 included a , D colour flawless diamond that sold for over $1.8 million USD; and a pink diamond sold for over $1.0