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Mining News: Junior finds more diamonds at Chidliak Peregrine reports discovery of seven more kimberlites, impressive numbers of large and microdiamonds in recent kimberlite samples Rose Ragsdale For Mining News
Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. has discovered seven additional kimberlites on its 9,800-square-kilometer, or 3,784-square-mile, Chidliak Project in Nunavut, and recent tests yielded discovery of large diamonds and a coarse diamond size distribution in representative drill core samples collected from the CH-6 kimberlite.
“We believe these microdiamond counts from CH-6 are some of the best results in the history of Canadian diamond exploration and a testament to the outstanding potential of Chidliak,” Peregrine CEO Eric Friedland said Sept. 21 in reporting the diamond finds.
Five of the seven kimberlites were discovered by drilling geophysical anomalies (CH-10, CH-13, CH-14, CH-15 and CH-16), while the CH-11 and CH-12 kimberlites were discovered at surface while prospecting geophysical anomalies. The field portion of the 2009 Chidliak exploration program is now complete.
Chidliak is located about 120 kilometers, or 74 miles, northeast of Iqaluit on Baffin Island where Vancouver, B.C-based Peregrine’s C$9.2 million exploration program for 2009 got underway in May. BHP Billiton, Peregrine’s partner in the project, funded most of the exploration.
BHP, which owns most of the huge Ekati Mine in Northwest Territories, has committed to spend C$22.3 million to earn 51 percent interest in the project and can gain another 7 percent stake by funding a feasibility study.
The earliest kimberlites were discovered on Baffin Island in the 1970s, but Chidliak is located 800 kilometers (497 miles) away from them in an unrelated area, according to Peregrine’s geologists.
Peregrine began exploring the area in 2005 and has conducted sampling programs every year since. Last year, it enlarged the prospect and discovered three diamond-bearing kimberlites, CH-1, CH-2, and CH-3, at Chidliak.
High diamond count in CH-6 Peregrine reported Sept. 21 that a 398.8 kilogram sample collected from the CH-6 kimberlite yielded 2,730 diamonds larger than the 0.075-millimeter sieve size, including 131 diamonds larger than 0.60 mm. The largest diamond recovered from the sample was a 0.62 carat white, transparent aggregate.
Thirty of the 62 diamonds larger than the 0.85 mm sieve size from CH-6 were classified as having a white color, 18 were described as off-white, 10 were yellow and four were grey or brown.
The CH-5 kimberlite also was determined to be diamondiferous with a 423.7 kilogram surface sample yielding 49 diamonds larger than the 0.075 mm sieve size.
Strongest results in career “The microdiamond results from CH-6 are some of the strongest I have seen in my 27-year career in diamond exploration and to my knowledge, are the best publicly disclosed microdiamond results from a Canadian kimberlite since the discovery of the A-154 pipe at Diavik in the Northwest Territories in 1994,” said Peregrine President Brooke Clements. “Having just completed our first drill program at Chidliak, we are at the start of the exploration cycle and we expect to discover more kimberlites with the economic potential of CH-1 and CH-6. Over the next few months we will be receiving diamond results from 11 additional kimberlites discovered this year and from the 50-metric-ton sample collected from CH-1. We are confident that more diamondiferous kimberlites will be discovered during the 2010 field program.”
Between July 3 and Sept. 8, 13 new kimberlites were discovered at Chidliak, seven by drilling and six by prospecting and mapping, bringing to 16 the total number of kimberlites discovered to date on the project.
Peregrine reported discovery of the CH-6 kimberlite Aug. 6.
Discovery of the CH-10 kimberlite was reported Sept. 14. This kimberlite was discovered by drilling one of four magnetic low anomalies aligned for about 600 meters like a “String of Pearls” in a north-northwest direction from the CH-6 kimberlite pipe. The CH-10 kimberlite is described as magmatic with 40 to 50 percent olivine macrocrysts up to 10 millimeters in size, and abundant mantle-derived garnets. In light of the results from CH-6, a sample of about 100 kilograms of CH-10 is being submitted for microdiamond analysis.
Busy field season Other notable accomplishments in this year’s field program include collection of a 50-metric-ton mini-bulk sample from an outcrop at the CH-1 kimberlite; transportation of the sample to Iqaluit core drilling at CH-1; the discovery of kimberlite float at five locations by prospecting (three of the five float discoveries are associated with compelling geophysical anomalies); collection of 1,273 indicator mineral samples; assessment of 58 geophysical anomalies by prospecting and geochemical sampling; and completion of more than 1,100 line-kilometers of ground geophysical surveys. Peregrine also completed an initial environmental baseline study.
The junior is now awaiting more results of lab analysis of the samples collected.
Clements said the rate at which kimberlites are being discovered at Chidliak is encouraging.
“During this summer’s field season, in only 68 days, our crew averaged one new kimberlite discovery every five days,” he observed. “In addition, the presence of both kimberlite indicator minerals with diamond inclusion chemistry and untested high-priority kimberlite-type geophysical anomalies both within and well outside of the area where kimberlites were discovered in the 2008 and 2009 programs, indicates that there is excellent potential for the discovery of many more diamondiferous kimberlites at Chidliak.”
All of the 16 presently known kimberlites and four of the five kimberlite float occurrences that have yet to be definitively linked to a kimberlite source fall within a rectangular area, roughly 30 kilometers east-west by 17 kilometers north-south.
Further work including detailed ground geophysics and drilling to investigate the overall kimberlite tonnage potential of the CH-6 pipe and the associated “String of Pearls” system is planned for the 2010 exploration program.
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