(Cape Town, January 29, 2007) — Diamond Fields International Ltd. (DFI:TSX) (“DFI” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that diamond production has commenced in the indicated resource areas defined under the previously announced joint operations agreement with Bonaparte Diamond Mines NL (“Bonaparte”) after signing a mining agreement with Bonaparte.
DFI’s mining vessel “MV DF Discoverer” commenced mining operations on January 27, 2007 in the Joint Operations area in the Diaz Prospect 1 (DP1) in ML111 offshore Luderitz, Namibia where independent consulting company SRK Consulting (“SRK”) has estimated a NI 43-101 compliant Indicated Resource of 63,000 carats derived from sampling conducted under the joint operations agreement with Bonaparte.
As previously announced, this indicated resource occurs within 7 discrete zones over a total area of 315,000m2 in DP1 at an average grade of 0.2 ct/m2 but 76% of the total resource (48,000 carats) occurs at an average grade of 0.43ct/m2 in an area of 111,500m2. SRK anticipates that grades achieved during mining could be up to 30% higher than the estimates. The average size of the diamonds in DP1 is estimated by SRK at 0.47ct/stone (arithmetic mean) which is significantly higher than displayed in most deposits delineated to date in the Luderitz area. The diamonds recovered in sampling were valued by the Namibian Government Diamond Valuation process at US$318/ct.
The diamondiferous gravels generally lie at shallow depths with average sediment thickness ranging from 0.5m to 2.5m and so are conducive to high production rates and lower unit costs.
DFI and Bonaparte have concluded a short form mining agreement to enable both companies to benefit from the high diamond grades identified during the late 2006 joint operations sampling programme while a more comprehensive agreement is concluded between the parties. In summary, the mining joint operations will be conducted by DFI utilizing its vessel mv DF Discoverer on a 70%(DFI) : 30% (Bonaparte) shared revenue and agreed operating cost basis. The mining is being undertaken under an agreed mining plan and the full agreement is expected to be completed within the next few weeks.
Details of the Indicated Resource calculation, including the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate the Indicated Resource, are contained in the NI 43-101 technical report entitled “Resource Estimates for the Diaz Prospect 1, Namibia” dated December, 2006 prepared by SRK for DFI and Bonaparte, a copy of which has been filed under DFI’s profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Dr. A.E. Annels, who is responsible for the resource estimates contained within the SRK report and is the designated Qualified Person, has read and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this News Release.
DATED January 29, 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.