Eric Friedland's Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. will keep working on at least three key diamond plays in Canada's North, despite the market turmoil. Brooke Clements, Peregrine's president, said the company is planning a 2009 exploration program at Nanuq in Central Nunavut, as well as on its Lac de Gras properties in the Northwest Territories. Neither will get the detailed look slated for Chidliak on Baffin Island, but drilling of new kimberlite targets should occur.

The plan

Mr. Clements said Peregrine did not drill at Nanuq this summer, because the cost of setting up a camp was too high for a modest program. As a result, it made more sense to defer the drilling than to scale back the program.

The project remains just below Chidliak on Peregrine's priority list and Mr. Clements said the company was planning a new program that will include drilling and sampling. The new budget will be less than at Chidliak, but it should easily top the $1-million mark.

As well, Mr. Clements said Peregrine would entertain offers from other companies looking to option the project. That would ease the burden on Peregrine's treasury, but there are few diamond explorers around with a ready supply of exploration cash these days.

Further, Mr. Clements said there was a promising target on the Lac de Gras West property that warranted drilling, and there are a number of unexplained indicator mineral trains on the property. As a result, Peregrine expects to be working on the property next year and drilling of at least the one top target is likely.

The drill plan would grow, if the company can find enough new targets at the heads of its mineral trains. As well, recent geophysical surveying on the large Lac de Gras East property is likely to yield at least a few more kimberlite targets.

Money is always an issue, but Mr. Friedland evidently has a good sense of timing. Peregrine added nearly $3-million to its treasury this summer, just after it released its Chidliak diamond counts. The company will need more cash for next year, but it has plenty of kimberlite at the lab to bring more share selling opportunities.

The encouragement

Although Peregrine did not drill Nanuq this year, it did drill anomalies on Nanuq North with its partner, Indicator Minerals Inc. That work led to one new discovery, NQN-001. Mr. Clements said that new find is just north of the border of Nanuq and about 18 kilometres north of Kayuu, one of three 2007 discoveries on Peregrine's 100-per-cent-owned property.

The Nanuq North partners are waiting on diamond counts, and some good numbers would give Peregrine's spirits a boost. Its three Nanuq pipes yielded intriguing diamond counts. Kayuu, for example, produced 393 stones from 524 kilograms of rock, including a 1.18-millimetre gem. Mr. Clements said the NQN-001 pipe expands the kimberlite field out to nearly 20 kilometres, giving him the added hope that it could extend a similar distance in other directions around Kayuu.

Peregrine's Lac de Gras West play nearly surrounds the Monument project, which contains several small pipes and dikes that are yielding significant diamond counts and some larger stones. Bigger samples are needed to determine the grades of the bodies, but some of the rosier expectations run around one-half carat per tonne.

Peregrine's Lac de Gras East play surrounds its DO-27 pipe, which has a grade of about one carat per tonne and a diamond value of just over $50 (U.S.) per carat. The project is on hold while the company waits for higher diamond prices and better economic conditions, but it adds hope that any nearby kimberlite find may have comparable or better diamond grades and values, giving both projects a boost.

Peregrine closed up 8.5 cents to 37.5 cents Thursday on 98,100 shares.