Firestone Diamonds CLUB HISTORY COMPANY NEWS Conflict and Synthetic Diamonds - Major Threats to Industry 03 November, 2003 Presenting the keynote address at last week's South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy's diamond colloquium held in Johannesburg, De Beers' director of operations, Gavin Beevers highlighted the image of diamonds in the eyes of the consumer and synthetic diamonds as the two major threats currently challenging the industry. According to Beevers these major threats underscore the vital importance of both certification of origin and certification of natural diamond authenticity schemes in the continued sustainability of the industry. Touching upon the issue of synthetic diamonds, De Beers Consolidated Mines executive director, Jonathan Oppenheimer told delegates to the colloquium that although the High Temperature High Pressure (HTHP) method of producing synthetic diamonds will never challenge natural gem-quality diamonds due to their yellow color, the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method is a potential challenge to the natural gem-quality diamond, albeit there is still ten to fifteen years until the CVD technology reaches maturity. Oppenheimer commented that diamond substitutes already exist in the market and that he cannot see why HTHP and CVD produced synthetic diamonds should not do the same. Progress update on Bonte Koe Mine 10 November, 2003 * Independent review of mine development and operating plans completed * Mining operations projected to produce 158,000 carats over a four year period, with gross revenue of US$31 million * Construction of gravel treatment plant due to start in November * Mining operations due to commence on schedule in first half of 2004 Firestone Diamonds plc ("Firestone" or "the Company"), the AIM-quoted diamond mining and exploration company, is pleased to provide an update on development plans for the Bonte Koe Mine in South Africa. Substantial progress has been made since the announcement of Firestone's plans to acquire and redevelop the Bonte Koe mine through its black empowerment joint venture, African Star Minerals (Pty) Limited, earlier this year. Activity has focused primarily on the completion of the mine development and operating plans. Firestone's metallurgical consultants, Namaqualand Metallurgical Services, have recently finalised specifications for the gravel treatment plant, and following pre-qualification of treatment plant suppliers, a shortlist of suppliers has been drawn up. A tender for the treatment plant will be issued shortly and it is expected that plant construction will commence in November. Ddraig Mineral Developments ("DMD"), a UK-based independent geological and mining consultancy, was retained to carry out a review of the Bonte Koe project and to make recommendations in respect of Firestone's proposed mine development and operating plans. The DMD review covered all aspects of these plans, including treatment plant design, metallurgical specifications, mining methods, and mining, exploration and environmental management plans. The report also included a review of capital and operating costs, diamond resources and cash flow projections. The DMD report has been completed and its conclusions and recommendations support the proposed mine development and operating plans, which have now been finalised. Based on these plans, a dense medium separation gravel treatment plant with a capacity of 100 tonnes per hour will be erected at Bonte Koe. This plant is expected to process approximately 1.5 million tonnes of gravel over a four year period, producing approximately 158,000 carats, based on an estimated average grade of approximately 10 carats per hundred tonnes. With an estimated value for Bonte Koe production of $200 per carat, this implies a gross revenue of over $31 million. A detailed environmental management programme report covering rehabilitation of both historical and planned mining operations has been completed and submitted to the Department of Minerals & Energy for approval. Planning for the refurbishment of accommodation, workshop and office facilities and the re-establishment of power and water supply is also at an advanced stage. Firestone intends to use an earthmoving contractor for mining operations at Bonte Koe, and negotiations with contractors have already commenced and are expected to be finalised in early 2004. Mr. Philip Kenny, Chief Executive of Firestone, said today: "Bonte Koe represents a key component of our development plans for African Star Minerals, and we are very pleased with the progress that we have made over the past few months. We believe that Bonte Koe has the potential to make a significant contribution to Firestone's profits and look forward to commencing mining operations at Bonte Koe in the first half of 2004, as previously indicated. We also expect our new operations at Bonte Koe to allow us to secure and exploit new opportunities in the Namaqualand region through African Star Minerals." Visit the company website Top of page