BHP Billiton has decided to keep up its 51% interest in the Chidliak diamond project in Nunavut, Canada, with Peregrine Diamonds holding the remaining 49%.

Peregrine CEO Eric Friedland said that Peregrine was "ideally suited to build a vertically integrated diamond company," noting that his firm held the marketing rights of its share of any future diamond production the project might yield.

Friedland noted that BHP Billiton had experience in the Canadian diamond industry, having built and operated the Ekati diamond mine. "Diamond mines can be incredibly profitable, and we are pleased to have BHP Billiton as our partner," he said.

Thus far, 50 kimberlites have been discovered at Chidliak, 24 of which contain diamonds. Six kimberlites are considered economically viable, and a program of "aggressive" exploration for additional diamondiferous kimberlites is slated for 2011.