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
Jericho Diamond Mine Contwoyto ice road in 2006. Tahera filed for protection from creditors in January 2008, and the mine stopped recovering diamonds once existing ore stockpiles ran out, one month later. There is no registered airport at the site so all heavy equipment had to be brought in by the Tibbitt to Contwoyto winter road. Due to the remoteness of the site the mine was part of the impetus for a proposal to build a port near the community of Bathurst Inlet with a road to both Diavik Diamond Mine and Ekati Diamond Mine. The mine was estimated to be able to