In the third fiscal quarter closing 31 March 2013, BHP Billiton noted that diamond production at the Ekati mine in Canada decreased 26 percent (on y-o-y basis) to 322,000 carats, reports suggest. The production saw a drop of 32 percent to 930,000 carats for the three quarter of the fiscal year, reports say.

It may be recalled that BHP Billiton sold its 80 percent stake in Ekati this month, to Dominion Diamond Corporation for a value of $553 ‎million.