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Peregrine Recovers 0.88Cts per Tonne from Chidliak Sample
Jan 13, 2016 3:06 AM
By John Costello
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RAPAPORT... Peregrine
Diamonds reported an overall diamond grade of 0.88 carats per tonne from an
814-dry tonne bulk sample from the Chidliak Diamond Project in Nunavut, Canada.
The material was taken from the CH-7 kimberlite pipe at the mine, which it owns
outright.
The Toronto-listed exploration company
recovered 717.65 carats of commercial-size diamonds, including “53 diamonds one
carat or larger and 183 diamonds over 0.50 carat in size,” according to a
statement January 12. The largest individual gem was a 5.33-carat white octahedron
with no inclusions.
Diamond breakage was high, with 75 to
90 percent of gems damaged, more than double what is typical for large-diameter
reverse-circulation (RC) drilling programs, the statement said.
The breakage resulted in 10-percent to 40-percent loss of
carat weight. It specifically affected high-quality gem or near-gem stones with
few internal flaws that would have weighed two carats or more. The largest
partially reconstructed gem-quality stone is estimated to have weighed more
than 6 carats. A review is underway to identify and eliminate the source of the
breakage prior to further use of the large-diameter RC drill, the statement
said.
"While a certain amount of diamond breakage
is to be expected in any large-diameter RC drilling program, the level of
breakage observed in this bulk sample is abnormally high,” said Dr. Tom
McCandless, an expert in diamond morphology and breakage
analysis commissioned by Peregrine as an independent qualified person to
analyze the breakage.
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Tags:
Canada, Chidliak Diamond Project, exploration, John Costello, mining, Peregrine Diamonds, Rapaport News
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