Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX-SWY) is pleased to announce the discovery of a new kimberlite body on the 1.04 million acre Qilalugaq Project, situated north of Repulse Bay in Nunavut. The property now hosts 18 kimberlites, including the 14 ha coalescing Q1-4 bodies, currently the largest known kimberlite in the eastern Arctic. Under the terms of an option agreement signed between BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. ("BHP Billiton") and Stornoway on July 10, 2006, and revised June 5, 2008, Stornoway can earn a 50% interest in the project from BHP Billiton by spending $9 million before December 31, 2012.
Summer 2008 prospecting activities resulted in the discovery of the Naujaat 7 kimberlite dyke. Naujaat 7 was identified from a linear series of discontinuous occurrences of frost heaved kimberlite fragments and boulders extending over a 700m strike length. The host structure is as narrow as 1-2m in places and, based on the presence of associated alteration, can be traced for a minimum additional strike length of 1.3km and possibly for as much as 6km total. Naujaat 7 has been confidently traced over only 700m of that 6km, and a small sample has been collected for Diamond recovery by caustic fusion. No drilling or mechanized trenching has been undertaken on any of the Naujaat 1 to Naujaat 7 kimberlite dykes and they have been identified from surface expressions only. All of these bodies lie within a 26 km long, structurally favourable belt that appears to have been exploited by kimberlite magmas rising from the mantle, including the 11 kimberlite pipes discovered previously (0.8 to 11.0 ha based on drilling and interpretation of geophysical data). Prospecting in the vicinity of other unsourced mineral trains on the property did not discover any other kimberlite, and as a consequence these anomalous areas remain unexplained. Additional till samples were collected in 2008 to help identify the source bodies.
An unexpectedly long drill program associated with the ongoing development of a conceptual kimberlite resource at Stornoway?s Aviat Project, coupled with other logistical considerations, prevented the drilling of promising geophysical targets on the Qilalugaq Property during the 2008 season. Additional work is under consideration for 2009.
Stornoway CEO, Eira Thomas commented: "The discovery of another kimberlite body in proximity to the large Q1-4 kimberlite complex, and only some 10 km from tidewater, is encouraging. Q1-4 remains a compelling target for the Company given that 24.5 tonnes of composite kimberlite samples collected from the outcropping 5.4 ha Q1 kimberlite in 2006 and 2007 returned a Diamond content of 30.5 carats per hundred tonnes (stones retained on a 0.85mm square mesh screen), including stones of 0.79, 0.59 and 0.37 carats. Stornoway is considering a larger bulk sample to properly characterize the Diamond population and provide a preliminary estimate of Diamond value".
Stornoway Diamond Corporation
Stornoway Diamond Corporation is one of Canada's leading Diamond exploration and development companies, involved in the discovery of over 155 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. 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. Mr. Hopkins has reviewed the contents of this press release.
On behalf of the Board
STORNOWAY Diamond CORPORATION
/s/ "Eira Thomas"
Eira Thomas
Chief Executive Officer