Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX-SWY) is pleased to announce the February 07, 2011 SEDAR filing of a National Instrument ("NI") 43-101 technical report in support of the recently updated mineral resource estimate at the Renard Diamond Project in North Central Québec. 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 DIAQUEM INC. ("DIAQUEM"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SOQUEM INC. ("SOQUEM"), itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of Société générale de financement du Québec ("SGF"), the Québec government's main industrial and financial holding company.
On December 14, 2010, Stornoway announced an agreement to acquire DIAQUEM'S 50% interest in the Renard Diamond Project in a transaction that would make DIAQUEM a significant shareholder of Stornoway. Upon the closure of the acquisition, which is subject to the approval of Stornoway's existing shareholders at an extraordinary meeting to be held in Toronto on February 10th, 2011, Stornoway will have acquired 100% ownership of the project.
The newly published NI 43-101 report is based on a revised resource originally announced on January 24, 2011 and outlines a total Indicated Mineral Resource of 23.8 million carats, and a total Inferred Mineral Resource of 17.5 million carats, increases of 3% and 31% respectively over the previous estimate. Included in the revised mineral resource estimate is 12.9 million tonnes of near-surface kimberlite at Renard 65 containing 3.7 million carats now classified as an Inferred Mineral Resource.Additional resource upside has been identified in the form of a potential mineral deposit of between 23.5 to 48.5 million carats, an approximate two-fold increase over the previous estimate.
The reader is cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. In addition, the potential quantity and grade of any potential mineral deposit is conceptual in nature, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.
Qualified Persons
Mr. David Farrow, P.Geo. (BC) of GeoStrat Consulting Inc. is the independent Qualified Person responsible for the preparation of the mineral resource estimate for the Renard Diamond Project. Stornoway's diamond exploration programs are conducted under the direction of Robin Hopkins, P.Geol. (NT/NU), Vice President, Exploration, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. All of these Qualified Persons have reviewed and approved the contents of this release.
About Stornoway Diamond Corporation
Stornoway Diamond Corporation is one of Canada's leading diamond exploration and development companies, involved in the discovery of over 200 kimberlites in seven Canadian diamond districts. The Company benefits from a diversified diamond property portfolio, a strong financial platform and management and technical teams with experience in each segment of the diamond "pipeline" from exploration to marketing.
About SGF
Société générale de financement du Québec (sgfqc.com), an industrial and financial holding company, has a mission to carry out economic development projects, particularly in the industrial sector, in cooperation with partners and in compliance with accepted profitability requirements and with the economic development policy of the Québec government. As part of its new mandate, SGF is authorized by the Québec government to go beyond its traditional role as an equity investor by offering complementary solutions, such as loans, debentures or preferred shares.
SOQUEM, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Société générale de financement du Québec, is to undertake exploration, development and mining activities throughout the province of Québec.
About GeoStrat Consulting Inc.
GeoStrat Consulting Services Inc. a focused mineral resource consultancy, was established to leverage 50 years' experience of its founders, David Farrow and Darrell Farrow, in exploration, geological modelling, resource evaluation, production, resource reconciliation and accounting of diamond deposits around the globe. GeoStrat focuses on client interaction and involvement in developing resource models.
On behalf of the Board
STORNOWAY DIAMOND CORPORATION
/s/ "Matt Manson"
Matt Manson
President and Chief Executive Officer
For more information, please contact Matt Manson (President and CEO) at 416-304-1026
or Nick Thomas (Manager Investor Relations) at 604-983-7754, toll free at 1-877-331-2232
For more information, please contact Mr. Ghislain Poirier, VicePresident, Public Affairs,Stornoway at 418-780-3938, gpoirier@stornowaydiamonds.com or
Sophie Alarie, Director,Marketing and Public Relations, SGF at 514-876-9368, salarie@sgfqc.comor Pierre Bertrand, General Manager, SOQUEM at 819-874-3773 ; pierre.bertrand@soquem.qc.ca
** Website: www.stornowaydiamonds.com Email: info@stornowaydiamonds.com **
This document contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements" are made as of the date of this document and the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect current expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the amount of mineral resources and potential mineral deposits; (ii) the amount of future production over any period; (iii) net present value and internal rates of return of the proposed mining operation; (iv) capital costs and operating costs; (v) mine expansion potential and expected mine life; and (vi) expected time frames for completion of permitting and regulatory approvals, completion of a Feasibility Study and making a production decision. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements
All forward-looking statements are based on Stornoway's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. Many of these assumptions are set forth in the news release and include: (i) estimates of contained carats; (ii) the amount and classification of indicated and inferred mineral resources and potential mineral deposits; (iii) estimated completion date for the Feasibility Study; and (iv) the completion of the acquisition of DIAQUEM's 50% interest in Renard (including shareholder approval)and the timing thereof. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Many forward-looking statements are made assuming the correctness of other forward looking statement.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates expressed above do not occur, including the assumption in many forward-looking statements that other forward-looking statements will be correct, but specifically include, without limitation, risks relating to variations in the grade, kimberlite lithologies and country rock content within the material identified as mineral resources from that predicted, variations in rates of recovery and breakage; the greater uncertainty of potential mineral deposits, developments in world diamond markets, slower increases in diamond valuations than assumed, risks relating to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar and other currencies relative to the US dollar, increases in the costs of proposed capital and operating expenditures, increases in financing costs or adverse changes to the terms of available financing, if any, tax rates or royalties being greater than assumed, results of exploration in areas of potential expansion of resources, changes in development or mining plans due to changes in other factors or exploration results of Stornoway or its joint venture partners, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, risks relating to receipt of regulatory approvals or settlement of an Impact and Benefits Agreement, the effects of competition in the markets in which Stornoway operates, operational and infrastructure risks and the additional risks described in Stornoway's most recently filed Annual Information Form, annual and interim MD&As, and Stornoway's anticipation of and success in managing the foregoing risks. Stornoway cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Stornoway, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Stornoway does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by Stornoway or on our behalf, except as required by law.