NEWS Stornoway todayStornoway Announces Exploration Drill Program at Hammer Property, NunavutVANCOUVER,BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - May 25, 2011) - Stornoway DiamondCorporation (TSX:SWY)is pleased to announce plans for an upcomingexploration drill program at the Hammer Property located within theCoronation Gulf/North Slave Diamond District of Nunavut. The HammerProperty is a joint venture between Stornoway (75% and operator) andNorth Arrow Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:NAR) (25% participating) andhosts the Hammer kimberlite, which was discovered by prospecting inJuly2009(Stornoway press release dated July 30, 2009). The Hammerkimberlite has not yet been drill tested, and the upcoming program willbe designed to delineateits size and diamond content for the first time.Concurrently, Stornoway intends to drill for the presence of additionalundiscovered kimberlites associated with kimberlitic mineral trainsthat have been identified on nearby claims owned 100% by Stornoway.
Stornoway'sflagship property is the 100% owned Renard Diamond Project innorth-central Quebec, where a Feasibility Study and an associatedEnvironmental and Social Impact Assessment are on track for completionin the third quarter of this year. On April 26, 2011, Stornowayannounced a $5.6 million budget for complimentary grass rootsexploration at several additional projects elsewhere within Canada wherethe potential exists for new kimberlite discoveries. The 2011 Hammerdrilling represents an expenditure of $1.3m within this explorationprogram.
The Hammer Property is located approximately 500kmnorth of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (see map atwww.stornowaydiamonds.com/Coronation_P1_v2_2.jpg) and was acquired bythe joint venture in October 2008. The Hammer kimberlite was firstidentified as a topographic anomaly at the head of a kimberliticindicator mineral trainwith strong diamond inclusion chemistry. In 2009weathered kimberlite breccia within hand dug pits was confirmed inbedrock at the site, in addition to numerous scattered kimberliteoccurrences of surface float and frost heaved kimberlite fragments, and asingle micro-diamond was recovered from a 6 kilogram hand sample. Thetrue nature and size of the body is not known at this time. However, aground geophysical survey completed in the fall of 2010 hasconfirmed asignificant magnetic response associated with the topographic feature,which measures 225m long by between 15 and 100m wide and has a surfaceexpression of approximately 1 hectare. The goal of the program will beto delineate the true size and shape of the body, test for multiplephases of kimberlite, and collect sufficient samples to permit anestimate of diamond content. All required permits are either in place,or expected shortly, and mobilization is planned for the first week ofJune.
Adjacent to the Hammer Property,on claims owned 100%by Stornoway, past surficial sampling work has suggested the presenceof other kimberlite bodies that have yet to be discovered. Stornowayplans to drill test at least one of these well-defined indicator mineraltrains in 2011, with the high possibility of discovering an additionalnew kimberlite pipe with diamond potential. Within the CoronationGulf/North Slave Diamond District, Stornoway holds variable interestsinten known kimberlites. A review of existing data suggests that severalof these bodies would benefit from additional test work, and Stornowayexpects to drill and re-sample at least one of the 100% owned kimberlitepipes during 2011, subject to logistical considerations.
About the Coronation Gulf/North Slave Diamond District
Some17 kimberlites were previously known to exist in the general CoronationGulf/North Slave Diamond District, with Stornoway holding variableinterests in ten of them. The diamond contents of individual bodiesrange from barren to highly diamondiferous. The barren bodies tend to beilmenite dominated (e.g. Kikerk 1, Kikerk 2, Thrift) while those withelevated diamond counts have a more interesting indicator mineralpopulation including pyrope garnet(e.g. Artemisia, Knife, Potentilla).Within the diamondiferous kimberlites, grades (established from avariety of sampling programs by several companies) range from less than10 carats per hundred tonnes ("cpht"; e.g. Caltha, Perseus) to 10-30cpht(e.g. Artemisia, Knife), with portions of the Anuri pipe reportedlyreaching 78cpht. No development work on any kimberlite has taken placeto date, although large tonnage sampling programs have been undertakenby De Beers and Rio Tinto (through Kennecott Canada Inc.) at the Knifeand Anuri kimberlites respectively.
About Stornoway Diamond Corporation
StornowayDiamond Corporation is one of Canada's leading diamond exploration anddevelopment companies, involved in the discovery of over 200 kimberlitesin seven Canadian diamond districts. The Company benefits from adiversified diamond property portfolio, a strong financial platform andmanagement and technical teams with experience in each segment of thediamond "pipeline" from exploration to marketing.Stornoway's diamondexploration programs are conducted under the direction of Robin Hopkins,P.Geol. (NT/NU), Vice President, Exploration, a Qualified Person underNI 43-101. Mr. Hopkins has approved the contents of this release.
On behalf of the Board
STORNOWAY DIAMOND CORPORATION
Matt Manson, President and Chief Executive Officer
Thisdocument contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning ofCanadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" withinthe meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation ReformAct of 1995. This information and these statements, referred to hereinas "forward-looking statements" are made as of the date of this documentand the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, toupdate these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Forward-lookingstatements relate to future events or future performance and reflectcurrent expectations or beliefs regarding future event. Any statementsthat express or involve discussions with respect to predictions,expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions orfuture events or performance (often, but not always, using words orphrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects","estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives" orvariations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results"may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or beachieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions)are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-lookingstatements.
All forward-looking statements are based onStornoway's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as variousassumptions made by and information currently available to them. Many ofthese assumptions are set forth in the news release and include: (i)estimates of the timing to complete a Feasibility Study and anassociated Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for the RenardDiamond Project; (ii) the potential discovery of new kimberlite campsclose to infrastructure; (iii) future exploration plans; and (iv)exploration resulting in the discovery of one or more diamondiferouskimberlites. Although management considers these assumptions to bereasonable based on information currently available to it, they mayprove to be incorrect.
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 orthat assumptions do not reflect future experience. We caution readersnot to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as anumber of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differmaterially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations,anticipations, estimates assumptions and intentions expressed in suchforward-looking statements. Many risk factors are described inStornoway's most recently filed Annual Information Form, annual andinterim MD&As. Stornoway cautions that the foregoing list of factorsthat may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on ourforward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Stornoway,investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors andother uncertainties and potential events. Stornoway does not undertaketo update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, thatmay be made from time to time by Stornoway or on our behalf, except asrequired by law.