Karelian Regulatory News (KDR)

14 Nov 2005 12:04

14 November 2005 Karelian Diamond Resources Plc ("KDR") AGM Statement KDR finds kimberlitic material in preliminary trenching on Kuhno Diamond claimsAt the Annual General Meeting of KDR, to be held at the Westbury Hotel, GraftonStreet, Dublin 2 at 12 noon today, Professor Richard Conroy, the Chairman ofKDR, will make the following statement:"I am pleased to announce that kimberlitic material has been intersected duringa preliminary trenching programme on its diamond exploration acreage in theFinnish sector of the Karelian Craton.A previously reported heavy mineral survey near the city of Kuhmo in EasternFinland, undertaken on behalf of KDR by the diamond research facility of theGeological Survey of Finland (GTK), produced a number of kimberlitic indicatormineral anomalies in well-defined fans. A detailed ground magnetic surveycovering the source area of one of the most interesting fans was completedduring the autumn. This identified a number of targets which are of interestbecause their position suggests they could represent the source of theindicator minerals recovered.Follow-up of these targets has begun with a trenching programme designed toexpose bedrock in an attempt to explain the observed magnetic anomalies. Thiswork is also being carried out by the GTK. At the same time, additional basaltill samples have been collected to further evaluate the diamond prospectivityof the potential drilling targets.The first phase of the trenching programme is nearing completion and results todate are encouraging. One of the four trenches contains what is believed to benarrow anastomosing dikelets of kimberlitic material at the edges of an 8m wide"hole" in the bedrock surface caused by differential glacial scouring ofweathered, soft material. Two other trenches also revealed similar "holes" inthe bedrock which are further examples of preferential glacial removal ofintensely altered rock types.The bedrock surface in these "holes" is too deep for the excavator to reach,but information gained from the trenching has considerably improved theselection of drill sites to test for the presence of wider kimberlite bodies.Drilling of a selection of the best targets will commence as soon as a rigbecomes available this winter and field conditions permit.KDR believes the Finnish sector of the Karelian Craton, given its size andpotential, is under-explored and, by analogy with the Russian side, has thepotential to host world-class diamond deposits.This is an excellent start to find kimberlitic material at such an early stageof trenching and I'm delighted"Further Information:Professor Richard Conroy, Chairman Karelian Diamond Resources plc. Tel:+353-1-661-8958Charles Dampney, City Capital Securities Limited. Tel: +20-7822-7107Jeffrey Coburn, John East & Partners Limited .Tel: +20-7628-2200Ron Marshman/John Greenhalgh, City of London PR Limited. Tel: +20-7628-5518ENDKARELIAN DIAMOND RESOURCES PLC