THE STORY OF EKATI™ The EKATI™ Diamond Mine is Canada's first diamond mine. It was discovered in 1991, after a decade of exhaustive exploration by Chuck Fipke and Dr. Stu Blusson. DiaMet Minerals became a 51% partner in 1990 and the team utilized a new aerial sonar technology to discover that the the world's richest diamond bearing kimberlite (the host rock) pipes were actually under Lac de Gras, a remote location 300 km. northeast of Yellowknife. Over time, BHP Billiton acquired 80% of the EKATI™ Mine, with 20 % remaining owned by Fipke & Blusson. The area around the EKATI™ Diamond Mine was traditionally known as "e'kati" by the Dogrib and Dene peoples of the Northwest Territories. EKATI™ means "fat lake," and refers to the quartz rock which is found in abundance in the area. The white quartz veins that run through the rock are said to look like caribou fat, which is seen as a symbol of great value to the Aboriginal peoples of northern Canada. The EKATI™ Diamond Mine is the largest construction project completed north of the Canadian tree line. During the construction phase, more than 40 million kilograms of building materials, trucks, diesel fuel, and food were moved by truck over the 475 km ice road from Yellowknife to the mine. The project cost almost $900 million CDN. It took nearly a decade of planning, approvals, and work, to open for business on October 14, 1998 -- safely, on time, and on budget. NEXT PAGE | The Story of EKATI™ (continued) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Part of Cutting & Polishing Room