VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Oct. 6, 2009 (Marketwire) -- Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX:SWY) is pleased to announce the completion of the summer drill program on the Renard 2 kimberlite pipe, located at the Renard Diamond Project in North Central Quebec. The latest drilling has confirmed that Renard 2 is significantly larger than previously thought, and detailed drill data now support a high confidence geological model that is approximately four times larger than the initial mineral resource estimate for the kimberlite pipe, which was declared in December 2008. The Renard Diamond Project, which includes the Renard kimberlite pipes and the Lynx-Hibou system of kimberlite dykes, is a 50:50 joint venture with SOQUEM INC. ("SOQUEM").
The new drilling was completed on a detailed in-fill pattern designed to convert previously announced new kimberlite zones on adjacent sides of Renard 2 to the Indicated Mineral Resource category. Whilst the detailed resource estimation work is still ongoing, Stornoway can announce that the latest drilling is consistent with an estimate of between 14.8 and 17.8 million tonnes of potential mineral deposit in Renard 2 calculated to 700m below surface. This new material is in addition to the existing National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 compliant mineral resource for Renard 2, which was estimated to be 3.36 million tonnes of Indicated Mineral Resource (at an average grade of 81 carats per hundred tonnes, or "cpht") and 1.80 million tonnes of Inferred Mineral Resource (at an average grade of 86 cpht) to a depth of 570m below surface (Stornoway Press Release dated December 15, 2008: http://www.stornowaydiamonds.com/investor_relations/news_releases/2008/index.php?&content_id=457). At 700m below surface Renard 2 measures approximately 100 by 230 meters, has a kimberlite surface area of 1.8 hectares, and remains open at depth.
The reader is cautioned that the new kimberlite material reported today, as well as any "potential mineral deposit", does not constitute a mineral resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in it being delineated as a mineral resource. In addition, mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Work ongoing to update the overall Renard mineral resource statement includes detailed grade estimation, an updated diamond valuation, and revised geological modeling on each of the Renard 2, 3, 4 and 9 kimberlite pipes and the Lynx and Hibou kimberlite dykes. Stornoway expects to release the results of this work within the 4th Quarter of 2009, with a revised conceptual mine plan and economic assessment thereafter. It is expected that the new drilling will have a material impact on the mineral resource statement and economic viability of the project.
Matt Manson, President and CEO, commented: "Renard 2 has continued to grow dramatically in size as we have conducted more detailed deep drilling. Below 250m the pipe is dominated by thick zones of "brown" (kimb2b) kimberlite that characteristically returns diamond grades of well over one carat per tonne. The bulk of the new material is within the scope of the existing conceptual mine plan for the project, which envisions combined open pit and underground mining to 600 meters at a capital cost of C$308 million and a blended, all in operating cost of C$50/tonne.
