Peregrine touts expanded diamond resource near Iqaluit
CH-6 kimberlite now likely holds 17.96 million carats

Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. extracted these diamonds in 2013, in a bulk sample of its highly promising CH-6 kimberlite pipe near Iqaluit. (PEREGRINE PHOTO)
Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. says its highly promising CH-6 kimberlite pipe near Iqaluit likely holds an estimated 17.96 million carats of diamonds.
That estimate—based on a lab analysis of core samples drilled in 2017—is 58 per cent higher than Peregrine’s last CH-6 estimate of 11.39 million carats, the company said last week in a news release.
The estimate is an “inferred resource.” That means it’s at a relatively low level of certainty and Peregrine cautions investors that there has been “insufficient exploration” to have it declared legally as a “mineral resource.”
But the company is highly optimistic about the economic potential of the CH-6 kimberlite, one of 74 located at its Chidliak property about 120 kilometres northeast of Iqaluit.
“Simply put, there is no other Canadian development-stage diamond project that compares with Peregrine’s flagship project in terms of resource value or upside potential,” Tom Peregoodoff, Peregrine’s president and CEO, said in the release.
When combined with the nearby CH-7 kimberlite pipe, Peregrine now estimates a total resource of 22 million carats.
The average grade of the ore they’ve so far tested is 2.41 carats per tonne, including one part of the CH-6 site where the grade rises to 4.49 carats per tonne.
That means the company will continue exploring in 2018 to increase its resource estimate and work towards proving up the economic viability of a potential first phase of mine development.
“This Phase One resource is based on only two of the 74 currently known kimberlites at Chidliak, providing significant resource expansion possibilities, which the company intends to pursue in 2018,” Peregoodoff said.
They’ll also update a preliminary economic assessment that they released in the summer of 2016.
That preliminary assessment, or “PEA,” envisaged a 10-year mine life with average annual production of 1.2 million carats of diamonds per year, worth $471 million in revenue.
That PEA estimated a rate of return on investment of 29.8 per cent and the ability to pay back the potential mine’s capital expenditure in two years.
“Today’s announcement of the significant expansion of the diamond resource should have a material, positive impact on the forthcoming economic analysis and I look forward to sharing the results of the updated Phase One Diamond Development PEA with all of our stakeholders as soon as possible,” Peregredoff said.
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