Stornoway updates Aviat project

Stornoway Diamond Corporation and Hunter Exploration Group (Hunter) provides the following update for the 486,000 acre Aviat Project, host to eleven significantly diamondiferous kimberlites and located on the Melville Peninsula in eastern Nunavut,.

Spring 2008 highlights include:

Joint venture has approved a $3.05 million program for 2008
Acquisition of BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc.’s 14.4% interest in the project, bringing Stornoway’s project interest to 90% (Hunter holds a 10% interest, carried to production)
Acquisition of Hunter’s right to market 10% of the diamonds (previously purchased by BHP Billiton), bringing Stornoway’s diamond marketing rights to 100%
82 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) from Dense Media Separation (DMS) processing of 1.96 dry tonnes from the AV8 Upper kimberlite
Mobilization of crews for the 2008 exploration program (work to include ground geophysics and drilling at the recently discovered AV9 kimberlite pipe, drilling on the AV267 sheet in support of a conceptual resource study and collection of a 150-200 tonne bulk sample from the AV267 body)

Earlier this year, Stornoway and BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. (BHP Billiton) unanimously approved a $3.05 million program at Aviat for 2008. This included the collection of a larger tonnage kimberlite sample from the AV267 sheet, of which the initial 200 tonne sample was to be solely funded by BHP Billiton under the terms of the Joint Venture Agreement. Under an assignment agreement between Stornoway and BHP Billiton, BHP Billiton assigned to Stornoway all of its interest in the Aviat Project and its rights to market all diamonds of Hunter Exploration Group produced from the Project in consideration for the assumption by Stornoway of BHP Billiton’s obligations under the joint venture agreement, including this bulk sampling obligation and all future funding obligations.

Stornoway’s CEO Eira Thomas said that results from 2007 confirmed the potential for a large tonnage, high grade diamond resource at Aviat and the project will continue to be a top priority for the Company in 2008. Consolidation of the Aviat project interest allows Stornoway to move forward expeditiously with our plans to complete a high level conceptual resource study on the AV267 kimberlite complex and further drill-test the diamondiferous AV-9 kimberlite pipe which was discovered late last year and remains open both laterally and vertically. It is possible that AV-9 could represent an important feeder zone related to the AV267 sheet.

Source : http://www.stornowaydiamonds.com/

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