De Beers Canada has opted not to exercise its option in the Chidliak Project, which is a joint venture with Peregrine Diamonds.
Under the agreement, De Beers had the exclusive right until Dec. 31 to enter into an earn-in and joint-venture agreement for the project on a 50.1 per cent De Beers/49.9 per cent Peregrine basis. If De Beers did not exercise the option, Peregrine was not obligated to refund the $6.3 million already spent on Chidliak, which is located in Nunavut.
Approximately 150 tonnes of a 508-tonne 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 will use the results, together with previous geologic and diamond content information acquired from core drill programs, to develop a preliminary revenue model and establish an initial resource for CH-6.
