Marketwire
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Oct. 11, 2013) - Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. ("Peregrine" or "the Company") (TSX:PGD) has been verbally notified by De Beers Canada Inc. ("De Beers") that De Beers will not exercise its right to enter into an earn-in and joint venture agreement with Peregrine on the Chidliak diamond project ("Chidliak" or "the Project"), located in Nunavut, Canada. The terms of the Company's option agreement with De Beers were announced on September 5, 2012.
As announced on September 9, 2013, the processing of approximately 250 wet tonnes of the 508 tonne bulk sample collected from the CH-6 kimberlite by Peregrine commenced in late September. Approximately 150 tonnes of the sample have been processed to date. De Beers is funding this processing and the subsequent diamond recovery at the Saskatchewan Research Council. Final results, including independent diamond valuations, are expected in the first quarter of 2014. Peregrine's objective is to utilize these results, together with geologic and diamond content information acquired from core drill programs in 2009, 2010 and 2011, to develop a preliminary revenue model and establish an intial resource for CH-6.
More detailed information on the De Beers decision and the Company's plans for Chidliak will be provided as it becomes available.
ABOUT PEREGRINE DIAMONDS
Peregrine is a diamond exploration and development company focused on Canada's North. The Company has discovered two new diamond districts in Nunavut, Nanuq in 2007 and Chidliak in 2008. At its 100 percent-owned Chidliak project, located 120 kilometres from Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut, 64 kimberlites have been discovered to date. Peregrine collected a bulk sample weighing 508 wet tonnes from the CH-6 kimberlite in 2013 and approximately 250 of those tonnes are now being processed for commercial diamond recovery. A 14.11 tonne sample of drill core acquired from CH-6 in 2010 returned a grade of 2.84 carats per tonne. At its 72 percent-owned, nine hectare DO-27 kimberlite in the Northwest Territories, located 27 kilometres from the Diavik Diamond Mine, a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource of 18.2 million carats of diamonds in 19.5 million tonnes of kimberlite at a grade of 0.94 carats per tonne, which is open at depth, was confirmed in 2008. Peregrine also continues to evaluate earlier stage diamond exploration projects it controls in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and through comprehensive evaluation of its extensive and proprietary diamond exploration databases, is working towards discovering new diamond districts in North America. A key asset being utilized in Peregrine's search for a new Canadian diamond district is a proprietary database acquired from BHP Billiton that contains data from approximately 38,000 kimberlite indicator mineral samples covering an area of Canada of approximately three million square kilometres.
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 decision by DeBeers not to exercise the option to joint venture, the proposed exploration program, 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 decision of DeBeers not to exercise the option to joint venture, availability and cost of funds, timing and content of work programs, 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, operational and infrastructure risk 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.