Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. has bought  BHP Billiton's 51% stake in the Chidliak diamond project— a property in Canada’s Baffin Island that is projected to become a diamond mine—giving Peregrine 100% ownership of Chidliak.

"Working with the local communities, we are committed to develop Baffin Island's first diamond mine as rapidly as possible in a safe and environmentally sensitive manner," said Eric Friedland, CEO of Peregrine.

The $9 Million deal arrived just over a year after BHP Biliton acquired the stake. As part of the deal, Peregrine has also acquired BHP Billiton's Canadian diamond exploration database, which contains ten years worth of valuable data and information on kimberlite-indicator mineral samples in a 3 million square kilometer area. BHP Billiton will retain a 2% royalty on mineral production from Chidliak (with Peregrine having the right to match any offer by a third party to purchase any of the royalty in the event that BHP Billiton decides to sell). Peregrine will also pay BHP Billiton a total of CAD $9 million over a three year period.

"It allows us to make all the decisions at both the technical, operational and financial level…. It will give us a lot more flexibility." said Brooke Clements, president of Peregrine Diamonds.

Peregrine has also announced that Tom Peregoodoff, who spent 18 years with BHP Billiton,  has joined the company as Executive Vice President of Business Development.

"Tom is a highly experienced and consummate professional and we are fortunate to have an exploration executive of his caliber become part of one of the world's strongest diamond development teams. This is the beginning of a new era for Peregrine as 100 percent owner of Chidliak, and Tom's decision to join our company, along with BHP Billiton's acceptance of a royalty on future mineral production from the Project, is attestation to the real potential of Chidliak becoming Baffin Island's first diamond mine,” said Eric Friedland. 
 

 

 

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