 In early 1986, the Christmas Island Assembly held a design competition for an island flag; the winning design was adopted as the informal flag of the territory for over a decade, and in 2002 it was made the official flag of Christmas Island.Phosphate mining had been the only significant economic activity, but in December 1987 the Australian government closed the mine.In 1991, the mine was reopened by a consortium which included many of the former mine workers as shareholders.