FDI.L Regulatory News (FDI)

15 Jul 2005 07:00

Firestone Diamonds PLC15 July 2005 Orapa and Mopipi Joint Venture Projects in Botswana Evaluation and exploration update LONDON: 15 July 2005 HIGHLIGHTS • Microdiamonds recovered from kimberlites AK21, AK22 and AK23 in Orapa Project area • Bulk sampling under way on AK21, AK22 and AK23 to test for macrodiamonds • Kimberlite discovered on two targets in Mopipi and Orapa Project areas, bringing number of kimberlites in the project areas to six Firestone Diamonds plc ("Firestone" or the "Company") is pleased to announce anupdate on its Orapa and Mopipi kimberlite exploration projects in Botswana,which are being explored by De Beers in joint venture with the Company. Evaluation Results In February 2005, the Company announced that three kimberlites had beendiscovered in the Orapa Project area, approximately 15 kilometres south ofDebswana's Orapa Mine. Since then, detailed high resolution ground geophysicalsurveys and drilling have been carried out on these kimberlites to provide aninitial estimate of their size. Samples of material recovered from drillinghave been processed at De Beers' laboratories in South Africa and all threekimberlites have been proven to contain microdiamonds. Details of the resultsfrom this initial work are as follows: Kimberlite Estimated size Depth of Microdiamonds (Hectares) overburden (m) recovered AK21 (formerly known as X765) 3 65 3 AK22 (formerly known as X776) 3 (see note) 10 19 AK23 (formerly known as X777) 3.5 (see note) 10 197 Note: A drill hole between AK22 and AK23, which are 350 metres apart,intersected kimberlite from a depth of 11 metres to 49 metres, indicating thatthe two kimberlites coalesce close to surface. This provides a much larger areaof kimberlite close to surface, of approximately 9 hectares in size. Proving the presence of sizeable new diamondiferous kimberlites close to theOrapa Mine is a significant milestone for exploration in the area. On the basisof these results, it has been decided to take bulk samples from all threekimberlites to test for the presence of macrodiamonds. Four 12 inch diameterholes will be drilled on each kimberlite to provide approximately 100 tonnes ofmaterial for testing. In addition, a single 17 inch diameter hole will bedrilled to depth in the centre of each kimberlite. This material will beprocessed at De Beers' macrodiamond laboratories in South Africa, and theresults will allow initial estimates of the macrodiamond grade and value foreach kimberlite to be made. Bulk sampling was recently completed on AK22 and isin progress on AK23. Results of this work are expected to be available by theend of the year. Exploration Results Thirty four new geophysical targets have been drilled in the Orapa Project andMopipi Project areas this year, and kimberlite was intersected on two of thesetargets. One of the targets is a new kimberlite, known as BK53, which is located in theMopipi Project area, approximately 10 kilometres north of the Letlhakane Mine.Kimberlite was encountered at a depth of twelve metres, beneath a cover ofKalahari sands and Kalahari calcrete. The hole remained in kimberlite to adepth of 92 metres, where it entered Karoo sandstone. The hole was terminatedin Karoo sandstone at a depth of 113 metres. On the other target where kimberlite was intersected, kimberlite was encounteredat a depth of 36 metres, beneath a cover of Kalahari sands, Kalahari calcreteand basalt. The hole remained in kimberlite to a depth of 169 metres, where thehole was terminated. This kimberlite is now believed to be part of the AK21kimberlite. These discoveries bring the number of kimberlites in the Orapa Project andMopipi Project areas to a total of six. Material recovered from drilling hasbeen dispatched to De Beers' laboratories in South Africa for processing torecover kimberlitic indicator minerals and microdiamonds. Geophysical surveys and exploration drilling are continuing in both projectareas. A number of follow up ground and airborne geophysical surveys have beenconducted over the past six months, in order to provide higher resolution datain selected target areas where the presence of basalt has affected the qualityof data acquired from previous geophysical surveys. Ten targets are currentlyat a drill-ready stage, and final geophysical interpretation and evaluation arebeing carried out on an additional 32 targets. Philip Kenny, CEO of Firestone Diamonds, commented today: "We are very pleasedwith the progress that De Beers has made with the Mopipi and Orapa joint ventureprojects over the past twelve months. Given the fact that more than 10% of the75 known kimberlites in the Orapa region are economic, we continue to believethat the potential for new economic discoveries in the Orapa area is very good,and look forward to further results from ongoing exploration and evaluation workin the area over the coming months." For further information: Philip Kenny, Firestone Diamonds: +44 20 7370 6452 / +44 7831 324 645Leesa Peters, Conduit PR: +44 20 7618 8707/ +44 7812 159 885Jamie Cumming, Bell Lawrie White: +44 141 314 8103 / +44 776 8044 620 Website: www.firestonediamonds.com BACKGROUND INFORMATION Firestone Diamonds plc is an international diamond mining and explorationcompany with operations in South Africa, Botswana and the United States.Firestone is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market(AIM), and trades under the symbol FDI.L. Firestone has extensive diamond exploration interests in Botswana, which is theworld's largest producer of diamonds, with annual production of approximately 30million carats, worth over $2.5 billion. Firestone's interests in Botswana are as follows: • The Orapa and Mopipi Projects, which cover an area of approximately 4,900 square kilometers, are located close to the Orapa and Letlhakane diamond mines and are being explored by De Beers in joint venture with the Company. • The Jwaneng Project, which covers an area of approximately 3,700 square kilometers, is located close to the Jwaneng Mine and is being explored by De Beers in joint venture with the Company. • The Daly City joint venture project covers an area of approximately 380 square kilometers and is located close to the Orapa and Letlhakane diamond mines. The Company is in the process of earning an 81% interest in this project. Firestone also has extensive diamond mining and exploration interests inNamaqualand, which is located on the west coast of South Africa and has been oneof the world's largest alluvial diamond producing regions for the past seventyyears, with total production to date estimated to be worth more than $3 billion. Firestone's mining operations in Namaqualand include the Bonte Koe, Avontuur andOena Mines, all of which produce high quality alluvial diamonds, and a growingportfolio of early stage and advanced exploration projects. In June 2005, theCompany entered into a joint venture with De Beers over the Company's GroenRiver Valley exploration project, under the terms of which De Beers can earn a61% interest in the project by financing all work up to completion of bankablefeasibility studies on the project. Firestone also has a large scale kimberlite exploration project in the UnitedStates. In 2004 the Company entered into a joint venture with AmericanDiamonds, which is in the process of earning a 60% interest in the project. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange