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
Catoca diamond mine at the average rate of US$62.23, a volume that represented about 78 percent of the amount sold by the diamond companies around the country. The note states that as a result of the processing of the ore, the company obtained a total of 7.5 million carat that permitted to establish the operational costs. In 2012 the mine produced 6.5 million carats out of 10 million metric tons of ore production. The Catoca diamond deposit occurs in a kimberlite pipe. Catoca diamond mine The Catoca diamond mine is the fourth largest diamond mine in the world, and is located in Angola.