Visit Sierra Leone

Stellar Diamonds plc, the London listed (AIM: STEL) diamond mining and exploration company focused on West Africa, is pleased to provide an update on the resource drilling and bulk sampling at the Company's high-grade Tongo kimberlite diamond project in eastern Sierra Leone.

Highlights:

• Tongo Dyke-1 intersected at 204m vertical depth and along a strike length of 1km
• Two rig programme has completed 14 holes to date for 1,833m
• Further 36 holes planned for 5,000 metres, to include drill testing of parallel kimberlite dykes
• Bulk sample yielded 1,150 carats for undiluted grade of 111 carats per hundred tonnes ('cpht')
• Diamond valuations indicate potential for $205 per tonne in-situ value for Dyke-1
• Initial resource estimate on track to be completed in first quarter of 2012

Chief Executive Karl Smithson commented:

"The work programme at Tongo continues to deliver very strong results and we remain confident in the potential Tongo offers as we continue to focus our portfolio on the development of our high grade kimberlite projects. The current drill programme has confirmed the lateral and depth continuity of the high-grade Dyke 1. The kimberlite has been intersected at a vertical depth of 200m along a strike length of 1km and remains open at depth and along strike. Bulk sampling results from Dyke-1 have also continued to deliver grades which are comfortably in excess of 100cpht. Additionally, initial valuations on the diamonds from the Tongo bulk sample have shown an average value of US$185/ct, highlighting the high quality of the Tongo diamonds. In the next two months the exploration drilling programme will test Dyke-4, located 1km northwest of and parallel to Dyke-1 and further surface bulk samples will be completed. Our objective remains to establish a maiden resource estimate for Tongo in the first quarter of 2012 and we will continue to provide updates on our progress as the programme continues."

http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page674?oid=137743&sn=Detail&pid=102055