Sunrise Res Regulatory News (SRES)

21 Feb 2008 07:00

Sunrise Diamonds PLC21 February 2008 www.sunrisediamonds.com 21 February 2008 SUNRISE TO RECEIVE MICRODIAMOND RESULTS WITHIN DAYS FROM THREE KIMBERLITES IN FINLAND • Processing Of Samples In South Africa Has Taken Longer Than Expected • Several Further Kimberlite Targets To Be Drill Tested In March • Targets 295, 298 And Kalettomanpuro Kimberlite Scheduled For Follow Up Work__________________________________________________________________________ Sunrise Diamonds plc ("Sunrise" or "the Company") will be providing thefollowing update on its exploration activities in Finland at its AGM latertoday. Sunrise holds, or is earning an interest in 17 of the 25 known kimberlites inthe Kaavi-Kuopio and adjacent areas of Central Finland and has discovered sevenkimberlites in a new cluster in the Kuusamo area of Northern Finland. Three of the kimberlites bodies in the Kaavi-Kuopio area have been shown by bulksampling to have grades between 15 and 26 carats per hundred tonnes. Whilstindividually these pipes may be too small for development, they may havecommercial potential to provide feed for a central processing plant and so workin this area has focused on the evaluation of other known pipes and thediscovery of new kimberlites. In late 2007 the Company completed drilling programmes on three prioritykimberlites 10, 14 and 17 where grade evaluation was previously considered to beinadequate. The samples collected - approximately 200kg from each of thekimberlites - were processed for microdiamond evaluation following extraction bycaustic dissolution of the kimberlite matrix. Processing of the samplesgenerated larger than normal amounts of dissolution residues which took longerthan expected to pick for microdiamonds and to carry out appropriate re-pickingfor quality control. Results are now expected next week. In January and February the Company completed ground geophysical surveys overseveral new targets in the Kaavi-Kuopio area generated from a detailed review ofthe BHP Billiton regional geophysical database. The survey results are currentlybeing interpreted and a number of land-based kimberlite targets are scheduledfor drill testing in March. The Company's winter drilling programme was scheduled to include drill testingof a number of kimberlite targets underneath the lake systems that cover much ofthe Kaavi-Kuopio area, including Kimberlite 22 where previous grade evaluationwas also inadequate. Unfortunately the weather has, so far, been very mild andinsufficient ice thickness has developed to allow drilling operations to proceedsafely. Sufficient ice thickness may yet develop this season but this isbecoming less likely and drill testing of these particular lake targets may needto wait for 12 months. Additional work scheduled by the Company includes further trenching of gravityanomalies on Target 295 where kimberlite boulders and a microdiamond have beenfound in till and also ground geophysics over potential source areas for themicrodiamond rich boulders found at Target 298. Work at the latter has beenhampered by complex glacial dispersion patterns and it is possible, but by nomeans certain, that the kimberlite boulders are derived from a known kimberliteseveral kilometres away. If so, the prospectivity of this potential sourcekimberlite, which also lies within the Nordic JV claims, is enhanced. Further work is also scheduled for the Kuusamo area, in particular to trace theextent of the Kalettomanpuro Group II kimberlite which has attractive diamondindicator mineral chemistry. Further details on the Company's projects will be given in a presentation to theAnnual General Meeting later today and this will shortly be available on theCompany's website. Further information: Patrick Cheetham, Sunrise Diamonds plc. Tel: +44 (0)1625-505947. Mobile: +44(0)7767 458751 Ron Marshman/John Greenhalgh, City of London PR Limited. Tel: +44(0)20-7628-5518 Brett Miller/Roxane Marffy, Ruegg & Co Limited. Tel: +44(0) 20 7584 3663 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange