NUNAVUT
The newly reshuffled Peregrine Diamonds is seeing more positive prospects at its diamond exploration zone in Nunavut.

A snow-ski equipped DC-3 comes in for a landing near Peregrine Diamond's Chidliak property. The company is continuing to find positive results and working its way to a 2016 preliminary economic assessment. - photo courtesy Peregrine Diamonds Ltd.

Chidliak, the company's 100-per-cent-owned property, has shown high potential for a diamond mine in the eastern territory.

Results from Peregrine's bulk sampling project in 2014 at its CH-7 pipe have identified a new zone with some of the highest total diamond counts defined to date at Chidliak.

At its CH-6 property, the company has further confirmed coarse diamond distribution extends to a deep level.

"Needless to say, we're excited about the results," said Tom Peregoodoff, president and CEO of Peregrine Diamonds.

"The bulk sample program on CH-7 is underway. The focus of that program is to confirm these tremendous results that we received back in 2014."

He's excited about the prospect of adding significant carats to Chidliak. Work in 2014 added more than one million carats to inferred resources at CH-6, an increase of 15 per cent on previous numbers.

The new results at CH-7 have the potential to exceed the resource grade of 2.58 carats per tonne that was established at CH-6 in previous bulk sampling.

Peregrine Diamonds has now embarked on a 2015 resource development program to confirm the grade estimates and provide diamond parcels to enable valuations for its key kimberlite pipes. From there, the company plans a 2016 preliminary economic assessment on a potential Phase 1 diamond mine development at Chidliak.

Chidliak, discovered in 2008, accompanies Peregrine's other diamond exploration property in Nunavut called Nanuq, which was discovered a year earlier.

Chidliak is a 582,477 hectare property located 120 kilometres from Iqaluit.

An evaluation of the diamonds collected in 2013 showed an average market price of US$213 per carat.