Stornoway Diamond Boosts Mineral Resource for Renard Project

Stornoway Diamond Corp. (TSX:SWY) released an updated mineral resource estimate for its Renard diamond project.
The indicated mineral resource for Renard 2 now stands at 21.6 million carats, up 16 percent. The rise was achieved through the conversion of material from the inferred mineral resource. The total indicated mineral resource for the project is now 30.2 million carats, up 11 percent; that includes the mineral reserve.
Other highlights include:

• New Inferred Mineral Resources at Renard 2 defined to 850 meters depth.
• The inclusion of over 4 million tonnes of lower grade Renard 2 Country Rock Breccia (“CRB”) material in the Indicated Mineral Resource category for the first time.
• Substantial new exploration potential at Renard 2 and Renard 3 identified to 1,250 meters depth, where both kimberlites are interpreted to retain sizeable widths and remain open.
• Updated mine plan now under development to incorporate increased Indicated Mineral Resources.

Matt Manson, president and CEO of Stornoway, commented:

Midway through our construction of theRenard Diamond Project, we are pleased to be reporting today continued growth in the project’s overall Indicated Resources. As we explore these ore bodies at depth, we are delineating new Mineral Resources that represent potential mine production well past the current 11 year Mineral Reserve based mine life. Our drilling has shown that while Renard 2 at 600 meters depth is moderately smaller in cross-section than we had previously estimated, it is continuing downwards to a depth and on a scale that makes it unique amongst Canadian kimberlites. In a development that is particularly exciting, we now see the potential to mine the high grade Renard 3 kimberlite deeper than we had previously thought possible, following its re-discovery during the drilling at 1,000 meters depth, 500 meters below the previous drill intersection. The successful addition of over 4 million tonnes of lower grade CRB material at the top of Renard 2 into the Indicated category also now allows us to contemplate additional diamond production potential in both the open pit and underground mine, where CRB was previously designated as either zero grade stripping waste or zero grade mining dilution. We will now incorporate all of these Mineral Resource changes into an updated mine plan due for completion in the second calendar quarter 2016 prior to our production start-up.

Click here to read the full Stornoway Diamond Corp. (TSX:SWY) press release.