|
|
Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. (TSX:PGD - News) ("Peregrine"
or "the Company") is pleased to report that a mini-bulk sample of
surface material collected from the CH-7 kimberlite
weighing 47.2 dry tonnes returned 49.07 carats of
commercial-sized diamonds larger than the 0.85 mm sieve size, for a diamond
grade of 1.04 carats per tonne ("cpt"). The mini-bulk sample yielded 502
commercial-size diamonds, 15 of which weighed 0.50 carat or more, including
three diamonds larger than one carat. The four largest diamonds weighed 6.53,
2.18, 1.24 and 0.98 carats.
The CH-7 kimberlite
has an estimated surface expression of one hectare and is located on the 9,800
square kilometre Chidliak project ("Chidliak"),
Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. The sample was processed by dense media
separation ("DMS") at the Saskatchewan Research Council Geoanalytical Laboratories ("the SRC"). The
diamond results are presented in square mesh sieve format in the following
table.
SUMMARY OF CH-7 MINI-BULK SAMPLE DIAMOND
RESULTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Numbers of Diamonds According to
Dry Sieve Size Fraction (mm) Diamond
Sample ------------------------------------ Content
Weight +0.85 +1.18 +1.70 +2.36 +3.35 Total Carats (cpt)
(tonnes) -1.18 -1.70 -2.36 -3.35 -4.75 +4.75 Diamonds (+0.85 mm) (+0.85 mm)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
47.2 146 172 111 55 16 2 502 49.07 1.04
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The diamond content of the CH-7 sample as determined by DMS processing may
not be representative of the overall diamond content of the CH-7 kimberlite
due to a number of factors including the limited surface area of the
kimberlite from which the CH-7 sample was collected and the relatively small
size of the sample.
The colours
and shapes of the fifteen diamonds 0.50 carat and larger were described by
the SRC. One diamond was white/colourless,
six were off-white, five were grey and three were brown. Ten of the diamonds
were described as octahedrons, three were distorted crystals and two were
aggregates. The largest four diamonds were a 6.53 carat grey, translucent
distorted crystal, a 2.18 carat white/colorless, transparent octahedron, a
1.24 carat off-white, transparent aggregate and a 0.98
carat off-white, transparent octahedroid.
Images from CH-7 and photographs of some
of the diamonds recovered from CH-7 are available at the following link http://www.pdiam.com/i/pdf/Chidliak241.pdf.
Eric Friedland,
Peregrine's CEO, stated, "We are pleased to see a grade of one carat per
tonne and a population of gem quality diamonds in
this mini-bulk sample from CH-7, results that certainly justify a large bulk
sample of this pipe and are another illustration of the excellent potential
for Chidliak to host a diamond mine. We now have
five kimberlites with economic potential in Arctic
settings at Chidliak, and four of those are clustered
within an area that has only an eight kilometre
radius: CH-1, CH-6, CH-7 and CH-31. We hope to add to this growing list of
potentially economic kimberlites as more
microdiamond results from the 34 kimberlites
discovered this year are received. As we await all the results from the 2010
exploration programme, including a 14 tonne sample collected from CH-6, we are completing our
2011 exploration strategy which will entail the further evaluation of known kimberlites with economic potential, including the
planning for larger bulk samples, as well as the discovery of more
diamondiferous pipes starting next March with the drilling of a number of
compelling lake-based targets."
SAMPLE COLLECTION, PROCESSING AND
DIAMOND RECOVERY
The 47.2 tonne
mini-bulk sample of the CH-7 kimberlite was
collected by trenching from an outcrop measuring approximately 3.5 by 4.5 metres to a maximum depth of approximately two metres. At the same time, a representative audit sample
weighing 467.3 kilograms was also collected from the trench. Both samples
consisted entirely of magmatic kimberlite with
abundant kimberlite indicator minerals and mantle
xenoliths. The sample collection and shipment process was conducted under
strict chain of custody protocols and was supervised by senior Peregrine
personnel.
At the SRC, the mini-bulk sample was
crushed by a jaw crusher with a gap set at approximately 30 mm. The sample
was then fed into a five tonne per hour DMS plant
where it was subjected to scrubbing and two stages of crushing. DMS concentration
was performed on +0.85-12.0 mm feed material. Heavy mineral concentrate from
the DMS was treated through a two-stage Flow Sort x-ray sorter and vibrating
grease table recovery circuit. The resulting concentrates were then
hand-sorted for final diamond recovery using sealed glove boxes.
As an element of Peregrine's Quality
Assurance/Quality Control protocols, 111 numerically laser-etched natural
diamond tracers ranging in size from 0.2 to 1.5 carats were added to the
sample bags in the field, and 100 percent of the tracers were recovered at
the SRC. In addition, 120 blue synthetic tracers with a density of 3.53 g/cm3
were added to the sample at the SRC prior to DMS processing, and 100 percent
of these tracers were also recovered. To audit the DMS results, the
representative 467.3 kilogram audit sample was processed by caustic fusion at
the SRC for diamonds larger than the 0.425 mm sieve size and the results are
presented in the following table.
CAUSTIC FUSION DIAMOND RESULTS FOR THE
467.3 KILOGRAM AUDIT SAMPLE FROM CH-7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Numbers of Diamonds According to Sieve Size
Dry Fraction (mm)
Sample ------------------------------------------------- Total
Weight +0.425 +0.60 +0.85 +1.18 +1.70 +2.36 +3.35 Total Carats
(kg) -0.60 -0.85 -1.18 -1.70 -2.36 -3.35 -4.75 Diamonds +0.85 mm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
467.3 40 19 8 2 1 0 1 71 0.78
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The largest stone recovered in the
caustic audit sample was a 0.56 carat off-white,
translucent fragment. Results from the caustic fusion audit will be used in
conjunction with other audits to confirm the efficiency of the processing and
diamond recovery circuits at the SRC.
ABOUT CH-7
The discovery of the CH-7 kimberlite was first reported on August 6, 2009. Diamond
results for a 221 kilogram sample collected from surface material reported on
October 5, 2009 showed a coarse diamond size distribution. The sample yielded
664 diamonds larger than the 0.075 mm sieve size including a
0.64 carat off-white, translucent octahedroid.
As reported on September 16, 2010, six
core holes and two reverse circulation holes were drilled into CH-7 in an
effort to determine its size potential. CH-7 is a multi-phase body with an
estimated surface area of one hectare. Interpretation of the drill data
suggests that there are two distinct lobes at CH-7, a north lobe, and a south
lobe. The north lobe appears to consist of a single phase of coarse-grained
olivine macrocrystic magmatic kimberlite
that contains abundant indicator minerals and mantle xenoliths. The mini-bulk
sample was collected from a portion of this phase that is exposed at surface.
The south lobe is not exposed at surface and consists of volcaniclastic
kimberlite with Paleozoic rock fragments, abundant
indicator minerals and abundant mantle xenoliths. Samples collected from CH-7
by core and reverse circulation drilling have been
sent to the SRC for caustic fusion analyses and results are expected by
year-end.
The SRC is an independent laboratory
that is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada to the ISO/IEC Guide 25
standard for diamond recovery by caustic fusion.
Mr. Peter Holmes, P. Geo., Peregrine's
Vice President, Exploration, is a Qualified Person under NI 43-101 and is
responsible for the design and conduct of the programmes
carried out by the Company at Chidliak. Dr.
Jennifer Pell, Peregrine's Chief Geoscientist, was the Company's Qualified
Person for the sample processing and diamond recovery. Howard Coopersmith, an independent consultant to the diamond industry,
was Peregrine's external Qualified Person for the sample processing and
diamond recovery. Mr. Holmes, Dr. Pell and Mr. Coopersmith
have reviewed this release and approve of its contents.
Chidliak is a joint venture between Peregrine
(49%) and BHP Billiton (51%). BHP Billiton has a Second Option to earn an
additional seven percent interest in the Project by electing to fund the
Project to completion of a Bankable Feasibility Study. Peregrine expects to
be advised regarding the Second Option election this month.
Forward-Looking Statements: This news
release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than
statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or
developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may
occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements relating to
the proposed exploration programme, funding
availability, anticipated exploration results, resource estimates, and future
exploration and operating plans) are forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the
Company based on information currently available to the Company.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from
those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual
results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance
that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company.
Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from
current expectations include, among other things, uncertainties relating to
the availability and cost of funds, timing and content of work programmes, results of exploration activities,
interpretation of drilling results and other geological data, world diamond
markets, future diamond prices, reliability of mineral property titles,
changes to regulations affecting the Company's activities, delays in obtaining
or failure to obtain required project approvals, any changing budget
priorities of BHP Billiton, operational and infrastructure risks, and other
risks involved in the diamond exploration business. Any forward-looking
statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may
be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent
or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of
new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company
believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such
statements due to their inherent uncertainty.
|
|