Yellowknife (Apr 05/06) - Amid fears the now closed ice road would stall its $15 million exploration program, Peregrine Diamonds will use First Air's Hercules to keep its crews swimming in fuel through the spring.

With four NWT properties and two in Nunavut, the company was at a critical junction and needed to get its drilling done.

"This year's program will give us a lot more information," said Jennifer Pell, vice-president of exploration.

In the hunt for Northern gems, Peregrine has already proven it's willing to fly in elite company. It recently began exploration at Pellatt Lake which is adjacent to the northeast of BHP Billiton's Ekati diamond mine.

Advanced drilling work is also being carried out on its WO diamond project, roughly 23 km southeast of the Diavik mine.

"There are some great possibilities and we're working on a lot of property," she said.

Pell said the company is willing to "spend some money" and most of it will be focused in the known diamond district around Yellowknife.

At Pellatt Lake, Peregrine expects to explore 12 anomalies with a drill relocated from the WO property.

An eight-member crew began work here in late March.

A number of surveys and heavy mineral sampling efforts were carried out in the last two years at Pellatt Lake, but its not even the Vancouver-based company's busiest spot this year.

There have been as many as five drill rigs operating at the DO-27 kimberlite on the WO property, said Pell.

"We know this site has diamonds and at this point, we're testing to get an idea of the distribution," she said.

Two core drill rigs and two large diameter drill rigs are taking bulk samples on the nine-hectare site.

"We have 49 people working two 12-hour shifts at the D0-27 site," said Derek Strickland, evaluation geologist for Peregrine, adding the company also has two other properties in the NWT.

Its IM property is 190 km northeast of Yellowknife while the TM property is just 85 km northeast of the capital.