FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 22, 1998
DIAMONDWORKS UPDATES DEVELOPMENTS
IN SIERRA LEONE AND ANGOLA
VANCOUVER, CANADA - Bruce Walsham, Chairman, President and CEO of
DiamondWorks Ltd., announced today that pro-government forces have regained
control of the area around the company's Koidu diamond mine in eastern Sierra
Leone. Mr. Walsham, who recently met with President Kabbah and his ministers
in Sierra Leone, also announced that DiamondWorks' operating personnel should
be able to return to Koidu shortly.
DiamondWorks was in the process of taking a 20,000-tonne bulk sample from the
Koidu mine's two kimberlite pipes as part of a mine feasibility study when a
coup occurred in May 1997. The company removed its operating personnel from
Koidu shortly after the coup as a precautionary move, but kept a small staff
and its security personnel at the mine until fighting broke out in February
1998 as Ecomog forces moved to re-instate President Kabbah's
democratically-elected government in Freetown, the capital city. Initial
reports from Koidu this week indicate that the company's mining equipment
sustained damage during the recent fighting, while the processing equipment
remains essentially intact. DiamondWorks is mobilizing its engineering team
to the mine to assess the situation with the objective of preparing a plan
for the resumption of operations.
In Angola, construction of the new diamond processing plant at the company's
Yetwene mine is approaching completion. Operations are expected to commence
on schedule in June and the company expects the mine to produce approximately
8,500 carats a month when full production is attained. The company's Luo mine
continues to produce about 6,000 carats of high-quality diamonds a month.
Recent production from Luo includes several gem diamonds larger than 30
carats. A 16,700-carat parcel of diamonds from Luo, produced during the
period from February 9 to April 25, is currently being sold in Antwerp.
DiamondWorks' shares trade on the Toronto and Vancouver stock exchanges under
the symbol DMW.
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