At the end of the first quarter of 2012 which closed on March 31, 2012, BHP Billiton recorded a 21 percent drop (on y-o-y basis) in its diamond production to 433,000 ‎carats. The dip was as expected by the company, following operations at the Ekati mine were controlled for extracting lower grade material in the medium term.

The mining company owns 80 percent of the Ekati mine located in Canada.