Cape Town, September 6, 2007: Diamond Fields International Ltd. (DFI:TSX) (“DFI” or the “Company”) announces latest sales results and production from marine diamond mining joint operations (“JO”) with Bonaparte Diamond Mines NL (“Bonaparte”), and is also pleased to announce a new JO resource sampling programme.
Diamond sales and production update
Diamond production from June to mid August 2007 totaling 3,727.86 carats was sold in late August and realized a total of US$872,813 at an average price of US$234.13 per carat. This sale included a 2.45 carat pink diamond that sold for US$41,089 (US$16,771 per carat). Sales of production under the JO up to 13August 2007 comprises a total of 14,294 carats realizing US$3,138,832 at an average price of US$219.58/ct.
In terms of the JO agreement Bonaparte has the right to 30% of the proceeds from the sale of diamonds and is obligated to pay 30% of agreed operating and sales costs.
The unusually severe winter weather conditions and resultant technical problems that affected operations and reduced production in June continued through July and August with production for those months being 1,434cts and 874 carats respectively. Average stone size and diamond quality throughout this period remained good with average size maintaining 0.43 carats/stone.
Available mining time and production was affected by a combination of exceptional factors including direct stoppages as a result of weather conditions, equipment damage and breakages (mainly mining hoses and mining wires) as a secondary result of the severe weather and dragging of anchors (again due to harsh weather) resulting in the vessel being unable to maintain its desired position. Replacement of the damaged mining hoses was required sooner than anticipated and time was lost while the hoses were sourced and delivered from Ireland. The hose problem resulted in frequent stoppages to the port airlift as available hoses were applied mainly to keeping the starboard airlift operating.
Production is expected to again increase in the December 2007 quarter with improving weather conditions and return to full operational capacity as a result of the replacement and repair of certain equipment on the mining vessel.
Mining in the JO area has continued since late January 2007. To the end of August 2007, JO mining in ML111 DP1 has produced a total of 33,903 diamonds for 14,627 carats at an average size of 0.43carats/stone.
Joint Operations Marine Sampling
Bonaparte has contracted the purpose built marine diamond sampling vessel MV Douglas Bay from DeBeers Marine (“DBM”) for a second sampling programme in ML111 in terms of the amended JO agreement details of which were announced in a news release dated July 16, 2007. The programme is planned to start in late October 2007 and will run for a period of 35-50 days depending on results. This
vessel was used successfully in 2006 to define the initial JO mining resource of 63,000 carats.
Sampling operations will be focused on substantially increasing the mining resource adjacent to current mining areas within selected areas of the recently expanded ML111 JO area. Previous sampling by DFI has confirmed several areas of diamond concentration within the expanded area. The initial sampling will concentrate on the development of resource in these areas.
Roger Daniel, DFI’s President and CEO commented: “We are delighted that our JO partner Bonaparte is embarking on a second round of resource development sampling. Our expectation for the expanded JO area in ML111 is that it will provide the platform for defining substantially larger diamond mining
resources to allow us to progressively increase diamond production from 2008 onwards. The objective is to delineate an additional resource of some 200,000 — 400,000 carats in the expanded area in 2007/2008 to support JO mining for several years and allow serious consideration to be given for the introduction of a second mining vessel”.
Roger J. Daniel, B.Sc. (Hons) Geology, London, Pr.Sci.Nat., the Company’s President and CEO, who is a Fellow of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), is also a registered geological scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), and is thus a Qualified Person in terms of National Instrument 43-101, has compiled and reviewed the scientific and technical information contained in this News Release.
DATED September 6, 2007.
DIAMOND FIELDS INTERNATIONAL LTD.
“Roger J. Daniel”
Roger J. Daniel, President and CEO
For further information, contact Roger Daniel at +27 21 425 1990
Website: www.diamondfields.com
Forward-Looking Statements:
Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors identified in Diamond Fields’ periodic filings with Canadian Securities Regulators. Such forward-looking information represents management’s best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Diamond Fields does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.