Peregrine wraps up winter drilling at Nunavut diamond site

Company hopes big bulk sample will help expand diamond resource estimate

NUNATSIAQ NEWS

This photo shows 87.2 carats of white and colourless stones recovered from a bulk sample extracted in 2013 from the Chidliak site near Iqaluit. However, the company must do more work to confirm the existence of an economically viable resource. (PHOTO COURTESY OF PEREGRINE DIAMONDS)

Peregrine Diamonds has wrapped up its winter 2015 drilling program for its Chidliak property outside of Iqaluit which netted the company more than 555 wet tonnes of kimberlite, Peregrine said May 14.

Bulk samples from the company’s winter drilling project will be used to confirm the grade of the kimberlite, as part of Peregrine’s efforts to prepare a preliminary economic assessment of the project for early 2016.

Peregrine has discovered 71 kimberlites so far at its Chidliak project, 120 kilometres northeast of Iqaluit, eight of which have the potential to become economically viable, the company has said.

While its winter 2015 drilling program focused at its CH-7 site, a lack of snowfall over the past weather and the early arrival of spring conditions on the land meant Peregrine could not carry out drilling in time at other sites, CH-6 and CH-44.

Now a summer 2015 drilling program is planned for CH-6, to establish an “inferred resource” or estimate of mineral content that is made with a fairly low level of confidence. A program to collect bulk samples at CH-44 is planned for 2016, the company said.

“The successful collection of the bulk sample from the CH-7 kimberlite will enable Peregrine to determine the grade and diamond value and this information would be used to declare an Inferred Resource for this kimberlite,” said Peregrine’s president and CEO, Tom Peregoodoff, in a May 14 release.
“We believe that a [preliminary economic assessment] based on inferred resources at CH-6 and CH-7 will demonstrate that there is potential for Chidliak to be developed into Baffin Island’s first diamond mine.”

CH-6 is one of the highest grade kimberlites in the world, with an inferred resource of 8.57 million carats sitting within 3.32 million tonnes of kimberlite.

“With an actual diamond value of $213 US per carat, based on a 1,013-carat parcel of diamonds, this pipe alone has tremendous potential for development,” Peregoodoff said.

“The winter of 2015 was difficult for operations, and credit should be given to the Peregrine team and its contractors for completing this year’s bulk sample program under challenging weather conditions.”