[1] Ever since diamonds had first been found in the State Line Kimberlite District in 1976,[2] interest had been high in locating a viable commercial mining operation.

In 1995 Australian firm Redaurum acquired controlling interest in Diamond Co. and proceeded to lease mining rights for the land around Kelsey Lake .

After mining and selling approximately 200 carats worth of diamonds, Redaurum was sued by Union Pacific who had originally sold the land in 1896 but claimed that it held on to the mineral rights.

Bulk sampling during exploration in 1990 and 1991 recovered grades of 3.4 to 4.5 carats per hundred tons (cpht) for diamonds larger than 2 millimetres (0.079 in).

In addition McKenzie Bay estimated that due to Redaurum's outdated equipment only 40% of the mined ore yielded diamonds, on the order of 1.5 cpht.

However, with the rising prices of vanadium McKenzie Bay shifted their focus away from Kelsey Lake and began mine reclamation procedures in 2003.

For this reason a successful diamond mining operation can't rely solely on the mass of carats recovered.

The gem was cut and polished by legendary New York diamond cutter Bill Goldberg which yielded a 5.39-carat (1.078 g) faceted stone that sold for $87,500.