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From: Nigel
ArtDate: 8th December 2006
Section: (FILLYABOOTS NEWS RELEASES)
Remote Name: 87.74.94.221
Date: 16/12/06
Time: 10:16
8th December 2006
Firestone Diamonds plc Drilling Update
News Item - Conduit PR
Exploration drilling under way at Tsabong kimberlite project, Botswana Exploration and evaluation plans finalised for 2007
HIGHLIGHTS
Exploration drilling on Tsabong kimberlite field in Botswana commenced in November 2006 Exploration and evaluation plans for 2007 finalised Exploration programme - over 80 kimberlite targets identified by geophysics - 10,000 metres of percussion drilling planned on top 50 targets - additional high resolution geophysical surveys to be undertaken Evaluation programme - focus on 17 known diamondiferous kimberlites - 6,000 metres of core drilling planned on highest ranked kimberlites - core drilling to commence in Q1 2007 - deep core drilling to be undertaken on M1 kimberlite Firestone Diamonds plc (“Firestone” or “the Company”), the AIM-quoted diamond mining and exploration company, today announces that it has commenced exploration drilling at its Tsabong kimberlite project in Botswana.
The Company also announces that it has finalised its exploration and evaluation plans for the project up to the end of 2007. The Company plans to carry out exploration for new kimberlites in parallel with a detailed and systematic evaluation of all the known kimberlites in the field. Core drilling on the highest ranked diamondiferous kimberlites is expected to commence in Q1 2007. These programmes will be financed out of the Company’s current cash resources.
Philip Kenny, CEO of Firestone Diamonds, commented today: “It is a significant achievement to have been able to mobilise staff and equipment and commence exploration at Tsabong within 1 month of our permits being granted. Tsabong is one of Firestone’s most exciting and important exploration projects, and we intend to move our exploration and evaluation programmes forward rapidly. With the large number of kimberlites that we have in the project area and with more kimberlites expected to be discovered, we believe that our objective of discovering a 20 hectare kimberlite with a moderate grade of 20 cpht and average quality diamonds of $100 per carat, which would support a large-scale, profitable mining operation, is achievable.”
The Tsabong kimberlite field is one of the largest diamondiferous kimberlite fields in the world. It contains 67 known kimberlites, of which 17 have been proven to be diamondiferous, including the 180 hectare M1 kimberlite, which is one of the largest known diamondiferous kimberlites.
Exploration Programme An extensive exploration programme is planned for the Tsabong project area. Analysis of the currently available aeromagnetic data has identified over 80 well defined geophysical anomalies that have never been drilled. These anomalies are currently being ranked and prioritised for drilling.
The Company plans to carry out approximately 10,000 metres of 140 mm diameter air percussion reverse circulation drilling on selected kimberlite targets in 2007. With an average hole depth of 200 metres, this programme will allow approximately 50 of the top ranked targets to be drilled. The Company believes that the potential for the discovery of new, large diamondiferous kimberlites is good. Drill chip samples will be taken from any kimberlites discovered for microdiamond, mineral chemistry and petrographic analysis in order to allow a preliminary evaluation of the economic potential of the kimberlites to be made.
The Company also plans to conduct a number of high resolution geophysical surveys in the Tsabong project area. These surveys are expected to identify additional targets for drilling.
Evaluation Programme As none of the known Tsabong kimberlites have been evaluated on an adequate scale or using modern techniques, a detailed evaluation programme will be undertaken. This will be carried out concurrently with the planned exploration programme.
The evaluation programme will primarily focus on the highest ranked of the 17 known diamondiferous kimberlites. Work will also be carried out on a number of large kimberlites that have not produced microdiamonds but have only been sampled by a single discovery hole, and on any new discoveries that show positive microdiamond counts or geochemistry.
Approximately 6,000 metres of 50 mm diameter core drilling is planned on the 7 highest priority diamondiferous kimberlites during 2007. The holes will be drilled to depths of up to 500 metres to identify the various geological phases in the kimberlites at depth and to allow preliminary 3D geological models of the kimberlites to be constructed. Detailed microdiamond, mineral chemistry and petrographic analyses will be carried out on samples from the core. This work will allow more accurate assessments of the economic potential of the kimberlites to be made.
A separate evaluation programme will be carried out on the 180 hectare M1 kimberlite, which is the only kimberlite in the Tsabong field to have been previously sampled for macrodiamonds. As this sampling was carried out on diluted crater facies material from the uppermost portion of the kimberlite, the primary objective of the new programme will be to recover and test material from the deeper tuffaceous and intrusive facies.
Subject to the results of the planned evaluation programme, the next stage of work at Tsabong will be to take bulk samples from selected kimberlites by large diameter drilling to test for the presence of macrodiamonds.
For further information: Philip Kenny Firestone Diamonds +44 20 8834 1028 / +44 7831 324 645
Laurence Read / Joss Simson Conduit PR +44 20 7429 6600 / +44 7979 955 923
Jamie Cumming Bell Lawrie +44 141 314 8103 / +44 7768 044 620
www.firestonediamonds.com
Jos Simson Conduit PR Ltd 76 Cannon St EC4N 6AE Direct: +44 (0) 20 7429 6603 Office: +44 (0) 20 7429 6666 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7429 6699 Mob: +44 (0) 789 987 0450
www.conduitpr.com
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