Name and Location
Tongo Dyke-1 diamond project, Sierra Leone.

Client
Stellar Diamonds.

Project Description
The Dyke-1 project has a Joint Ore Reserves Committee-compliant inferred resource of 1.074-million carats at 120 carats per hundred tonnes, with the resource remaining open at depth.

A scoping study completed on the project has confirmed the robust, positive economics of the project, justifying its advancement to the definitive feasibility study (DFS) stage.

The scoping study focused on an estimated 682 000 ct of the Dyke-1 resource, to a depth of 300 m from surface over an initial 13-year life-of-mine. A decline access to provide early access to production ore is proposed, which will be followed by the sinking of a shaft to 300 m to gain access to ore on levels about 40 m apart.

Stellar’s directors have used the base case model produced by the study and increased the life-of-mine to 17 years to achieve mining of about 1 051 000 ct of the existing inferred resource, which the company believes is achievable at Tongo.

Value
The scoping study estimates the life-of-mine capital requirement at $21.42-million, while the directors’ model estimates capital costs at $30.27-million.

Duration
Not stated.

Latest Developments
The first results from Stellar’s Tongo Dyke-1 project are expected in February this year.

Stellar started bulk sampling in October and has, to date, delivered 650 t of material to the sample stockpile.

Processing started January 15 at the company’s on-site five-tonne-an-hour dense-medium separation plant. Stellar will increase the processing of material to about 100 t a week, with initial results being available in early February.

The DFS of the diamond resource is ongoing and aimed at ascertaining its economic parameters. The company remains confident of “crystalising” value for shareholders by advancing the Tongo project.

Tongo has already yielded attractive diamond grades and values, with the establishment of 120 carats per hundred tonnes at $248/ct from a 1 050 ct parcel.

Drilling and blasting of Dyke-1 will continue over the next few months, with the entire process expected to be completed by midyear.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Not stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Stellar Diamonds, tel +44 20 7010 7686 or fax +44 20 7010 7699.