Stellar Diamonds Regulatory News (STEL)

29 Nov 2007 07:00

West African Diamonds PLC29 November 2007 WEST AFRICAN DIAMONDS PLC 29th November 2007 AGM STATEMENT At the AGM to be held later today, Chairman John Teeling will cover thefollowing information: Pilot gold production has commenced on Plant 11 tailings deposit Full scale diamond and gold production expected to commence within thenext 4-6 weeks Expansion of the kimberlite Pipe 3 in Sierra Leone and discovery of asatellite kimberlite. Four large stones recovered from the Bomboko alluvial deposit inGuinea. Gold exploration to commence on a greenstone belt in Sierra Leoneduring the current dry season. Acquisition of Fastrack assets and appointment of Hennie Wessels asChief Operating Officer ('COO') has accelerated WAD's development. West African Diamonds plc ('WAD') is a diamond exploration and developmentcompany focused on Sierra Leone and Guinea. WAD has an exciting portfolio ofprojects, ranging from pilot production to early stage exploration - givinginvestors access to the full range of the resource value chain. . Plant 11, Koidu, Sierra Leone (60% WAD): Pilot gold production has now startedon this large approximately 7M tonne plus undersize tailings deposit. Thisprocess which has already produced gold is designed to fully test the plant,before moving to full diamond and gold production within the next 4-6 weeks.Contracts have already been arranged for the sale of both gold and diamonds oncefull scale production commences. Outstanding progress has been made on this project. In less than 12 months aplant has been designed and constructed in South Africa, transported to Koiduand assembled. The plant is currently in the final stages of commissioning,with pilot gold production currently underway. Full throughput of 150 tonnesper hour is expected before the end of the year. Output is expected to beapproximately 0.4g/tonne gold worth $9 a tonne of ore and diamonds worth $3 atonne of ore. The acquisition of Fastrack assets in Sierra Leone in July 2007greatly facilitated the development of Plant 11. In addition to equipment, WADwas able to acquire the services of Hennie Wessels, an experienced West Africanhand. He is bringing the project rapidly on stream. Bomboko Alluvials, Guinea (100% WAD): Four large diamonds (9.2, 4.5, 4.2 and 3.8carats) have recently been recovered from the continuing bulk sampling of thisestimated 750,000 carat alluvial diamond deposit. The Board intends to beginsmall-scale mining on the Bomboko in early 2008. Pipe 3, Sierra Leone (100% WAD): From a kimberlite pipe with very limitedeconomic value, WAD has increased the recoverable grade almost fourfold by theapplication of modern Dense Media Separation ('DMS') technology and appropriateprocess controls. Further, a recent geophysical survey has postulated adoubling of the size of the available kimberlite, with the discovery of asatellite kimberlite very close by to Pipe 3. Approximate calculations suggesta target mineable deposit of 350,000 tonnes grading up to 19 carats per hundredtonnes and in excess of USD228 per carat. Economic options are currently beingassessed. Droujba, Guinea (100% WAD): This is an area of Guinea well known for diamondscontained in alluvials, kimberlite dykes and pipes. WAD obtained a licence overthe area in April 2007 and has reviewed all available data. There issignificant short term potential in the alluvials, while the geology andeconomics of the kimberlite dykes and pipes need to be assessed. Significantexploration resources will be devoted to this area in the coming year, startingwith a comprehensive ground geophysical survey which is an advanced state ofplanning. Exploration, Nimini Hills Sierra Leone (100% WAD): Early reconnaissance samplingfor gold in the Nimini Hills of Sierra Leone included encouraging results of 63and 73g/tonne. Detailed follow-up sampling has been planned in an attempt todiscover shear hosted hydrothermal gold mineralized systems. Finance: A limited amount of new funding was raised at listing followed by a£846,000 placing in September 2007. These funds are adequate to bring Plant 11into production, to upgrade mining at Bomboko, to bring Pipe 3 to a feasibilitydecision and to conduct our ongoing exploration. Contracts for the sale ofdiamonds and gold from Plant 11 have been signed. Revenue should emerge in Q12008. Future: We believe that WAD has significant potential. The company will be adiamond and gold producer with a portfolio of projects spanning the fulldevelopment horizon: from early stage exploration to production and sales.There is an experienced team in place, more than capable of developing theportfolio. We are constantly evaluating new projects in diamonds and in metals, not only inWest Africa but elsewhere in Africa, as we are always looking to add value toour portfolio; through acquisition and by monetizing our asset base throughdevelopment. We are well on the way toward realising the potential of ourassets. This release has been approved by Alex van Zyl, Technical Director, West AfricanDiamonds. Alex van Zyl (B.Sc. Stellenbosch, B.Sc. Hons. Pretoria) spent a longcareer in Anglo American in the diamond division, ending up 1990 to 1997 withworldwide responsibility for diamond exploration and evaluation. He was aconsultant to De Beers from 1997 to 2002. Enquiries: West African DiamondsJohn Teeling, Chairman +353 1 8332833James Campbell, Deputy Chairman +27 83 457 3724 Blue Oar Securities PlcJohn Wakefield +44 (0) 117 933 0020 College HillPaddy Blewer +44 (0) 20 7457 2020Nick Elwes +44 (0) 20 7457 2020 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange