Firestone Diamonds plc is a UK-based international diamond mining and exploration company with operations in the Namaqualand region of South Africa and Botswana. Namaqualand, which is located on the west coast of South Africa, has been one of the world's largest alluvial diamond producing regions for the past 60 years, with total production to date estimated to be worth more than $3 billion. Botswana is the world's largest producer of diamonds by value, with annual production of over 20 million carats worth over $1.6 billion.

Firestones strategy has been to build a portfolio comprising advanced development and production projects to provide sustainable cash flow to fund ongoing exploration programmes and to provide an early return on investment, together with large scale exploration projects which have the potential to yield significant reserves of gem quality diamonds.

The company operates the Avontuur Mine and the Oena Mine of Namaqualand, which produces high quality alluvial diamonds, and has a growing portfolio of advanced and early stage exploration projects in known diamond producing areas in Namaqualand and Botswana.



Since 1996 the company has increased reserves and resources more than thirty two times from 34,000 carats to over 1.1 million carats at present, with an estimated gross value of approximately 260 million. Firestone is debt free and well funded and has a highly qualified management team with extensive experience in the financing and development of diamond and other natural resource projects. Firestone is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange and trades under the symbol FDI.L.

Firestone also has an exploration project in the USA.



Main Mining Pit, Avontuur Mine, Namaqualand, South Africa.






For FDI Corporate information : http://www.firestonediamonds.com/frcorporate.htm

For FDI homepage : http://www.firestonediamonds.com/index.htm

Firestone Dimaonds shares in issue: 65m 20p Ords

Firestone Diamonds PLC - Major Shareholders

Major Shareholders ---- Amount --- % Holding
Elfin Trust Company Ltd 7,200,000 16.68
Aurora Investment Trust 7,200,000 16.68
Gartmore Investment Mgt 5,418,116 12.56

Firestone looking good sorry I sold out a while back now. anyone into River diamonds--RVD? can't find a thread for it.

last entry was on 30/1/05 all it had on was the web site
address for river diamondshttp://www.river diamonds.com

This item has appeared on Bloomberg this morning .......

Firestone to Start Mining at Groen River Fron 2007, CEO Says

By Danielle Rossingh
June 30 [Bloomberg} -- Firestone Diamonds Plc, which this week signed a joint venture with De Beers to explore South Africa's Groen River Valley, said it may start mining gemstones there from 2007.
The Groen Valley could be "the jewel in the crown," for Firestone, Philip Kenny, the Leeds, U.K.-based company's chief executive officer, said at a presentation in London today.
The company may begin a bankable feasibility study on the project "towards the end of 2006," Kenny said. The study will take between three and six months. "We can get a mine up there by 2007 at the earliest," Kenny said.
Prices for uncut diamonds may climb 30 percent by 2012 as demand grows faster than producers can mine them, James Picton, an analyst at W.H. Ireland Ltd. who has followed the industry for almost 35 years, said on May 26.
Demand may outstrip supply by as much as $7 billion by 2012, Picton said. The shortfall is more than twice the $3 billion predicted by De Beers, the world's biggest diamond miner.
The imbalance has left Johannesburg-based De Beers, which controls 60 percent of the world's rough diamonds, scrambling to find new deposits. The company, led by managing director Gary Ralfe, said May 10 it will spend C$626 million ($496 million) to build the Snap Lake mine in Canada, its first outside Africa.
The outlook for diamonds is 'remarkably robust," Kenny said. "The challenge now is to find the diamonds,"
The Groen Valley is an unexplored ancient river system on the west coast of South Africa. Diamonds from the valley have exceeded $1,000 a carat, Kenny said. De Beers will be able to earn a 61 percent interest in the project.
Firestone Diamonds shared fell 3.5 pence, or 2.3 percent, to 151 pence as of 1:33p.m. in Londonb, valuing it at 69 million pounds ($124 million). They have risen more than 35 percent this year.

--Editor: A. Brown

Hobbst,

Thanks for posting that, further confirmation of how seriously the Groen River project is been taken since the involvement of De beers, IMO.

I have a feeling Firestone are now being taken more seriously in the city.

From today's Shares mag:

Firestone Diamonds (FDI:AIM) belief in its Groen River Valley
diamond exploration acreage in South Africa received a major
credibility boost with the announcement that De Beers is to join
the project.
Firestone has long maintained that the prospectivity of the
Groen River Valley rivals that of the more famous Orange River to
the north, with the possibility of finding substantial quantities of
alluvial diamonds worth up to $1000/carat. There has been a certain
amount of scepticism about this, but extensive evaluation of
Firestones exploration data and its own survey work has convinced
De Beers of the regions potential.
The new joint venture will cover 500 square kilometres controlled
by Firestone, plus 90 square kilometres contributed by De Beers.
The South African giant will earn a 61% interest in the project by
financing all exploration and evaluation work, up to the completion
of bankable feasibility studies on any deposits identified.
Firestone will also have the option to call on De Beers
to provide loan finance for Firestones share of mine construction costs in return for a further 9% interest.
Exploration work on the concession will now be accelerated,
including the arrival of a Bauer rig for faster sampling. Initial
targets include the HL gravel deposit, with the results of first bulk
sampling expected by the end of the year. If results are good, a
bankable feasibility study for the HL deposit is expected to be
completed by the end of 2006, says Firestones chief executive
Philip Kenny.
by: Cris Heaton

Firestone Diamonds PLC
15 July 2005

Firestone Diamonds provides update on South Africa operations
Joint venture with Trans Hex Group over Marine Concession 7a
Acquisition of Hondeklip Bay Mine from Trans Hex Group
South African mining and exploration progress report


LONDON: 15 July 2005


HIGHLIGHTS


Marine Concession 7a, South Africa

Joint venture signed with Trans Hex Group

Firestone to manage the concession on revenue share basis

Hondeklip Bay Mine, South Africa

Agreed to acquire from Trans Hex Group

Will integrate with operations at Avontuur Mine

Namaqualand Mining Operations

Production for FY 2005 in line with FY 2004

Significant increase expected in FY2006

Namaqualand Exploration

Targeting new projects similar to Groen River Valley


Firestone Diamonds plc ('Firestone' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce
that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Trans Hex Group Limited
('Trans Hex') over Marine Concession 7a in South Africa and that it has entered
into an agreement to acquire the Hondeklip Bay Mine in Namaqualand from Trans
Hex. The Company also provides an update on its exploration and mining
activities in South Africa.

Marine Concession 7a Joint Venture

Firestone has entered into a joint venture agreement over Marine Concession 7a
('Concession 7a') with Trans Hex. Concession 7a is located on the west coast of
South Africa and is owned by Trans Hex, the second largest diamond producer in
South Africa. The concession covers a 1 kilometre wide strip in the sea,
adjacent to and parallel to the coast, and extends approximately 33 kilometres
along the coast. The concession lies adjacent to De Beers' mining operations at
Koingnaas in the north and Langklip and Mitchell's Bay in the south. The
coastal town of Hondeklip Bay, where Firestone's Avontuur Mine is located, is
close to the midpoint of Concession 7a.

Mining operations in the shallow water 'a' concessions in South Africa are
typically carried out by independent contractors using boat-mounted pumping
equipment to produce screened gravel, which is then processed onshore. Mining
operations on Concession 7a are very limited at present as there have been no
facilities available at Hondeklip Bay to handle or process gravel from the
concession since Trans Hex ceased mining operations at the Hondeklip Bay Mine in
2003.

Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Firestone will be responsible
for securing, supporting and managing contractors for Concession 7a. Firestone
will provide facilities to offload gravel from and provide logistical support to
boats operating on the concession, and will use its gravel treatment plant at
the Company's Avontuur Mine to process the gravel. Revenue from mining
operations on the concession will be shared between Firestone and Trans Hex.
Details of the revenue sharing arrangements, including provisions for the
payment of royalties and marketing fees for the sale of diamonds produced, are
currently being finalised and will be announced in due course.

Firestone will initially focus on recruiting contractors to work on Concession
7a on a revenue sharing basis. This will ensure short term cash flow, with
limited capital cost and operating cost exposure for the Company. Firestone
also intends to undertake geophysical surveys on the concession to identify
areas where high grade deposits that have been mined by De Beers and others
onshore extend into the sea. These areas will be the primary targets for
exploration and mining on the concession in the medium term. The processing
plant at the Avontuur Mine will require a number of modifications in order to be
able to process marine gravel from contractors and to comply with Trans Hex's
security requirements. Planning for these modifications is now at an advanced
stage.

Hondeklip Bay Mine Acquisition

Firestone has entered into an agreement with Trans Hex to acquire the Hondeklip
Bay Mine for Rand 4 million (approximately 340,000). The Hondeklip Bay Mine
covers an area of 2,200 hectares and is located close to the town of Hondeklip
Bay. The Hondeklip Bay Mine adjoins Firestone's Avontuur Mine and De Beers'
Koingnaas Mine. The Hondeklip Bay Mine hosts marine terraces and
palaeo-channels related to those mined at Koingnaas to the north, and which
extend into De Beers' Langklip and Mitchell's Bay operations to the south.
Mining operations at the Hondeklip Bay Mine have produced more than one million
carats over a twenty year period up to 2003. Firestone believes that there are
still substantial gravel resources at the mine that can be exploited using the
Company's plant and equipment at the Avontuur Mine.

Firestone intends to combine data from exploration drilling carried out by Trans
Hex on the property with geophysical data in order to generate a detailed 3D
model of the bedrock topography in the mine area. The model will be used to
identify new gravel resources for follow-up exploration and evaluation work.
This work is already at an advanced stage and has identified a number of high
interest areas. The acquisition is subject to the approval of the Department of
Minerals and Energy.

Namaqualand Mining Operations

Mining operations at the Bonte Koe Mine since March 2005 have been focused on
processing material from a number of locations on the property with the
objective of improving the geological interpretation of the deposits on the mine
and allowing material from a number of areas to be blended. Grades from areas
processed to date are below the expected average, but as mining has been
operating at full scale for only a few months, it is expected that grades will
improve as mining progresses and new mining blocks are opened up. Following the
completion of construction and commissioning activities at Bonte Koe, the
Company has now focused its efforts on the securing of a new mining contractor
for the Oena Mine, and progress is expected to be made in this regard in the
coming months. While some equipment from the Avontuur Mine has been temporarily
transferred to Bonte Koe, activities at Avontuur have been focused on
preparation and planning to support the expansion of the operation to exploit
the Company's new projects at the Hondeklip Bay Mine and Concession 7a. Overall
production from the Company's mining operations for the 2005 financial year is
expected to be in line with 2004, with a significant improvement expected in
2006.

Namaqualand Exploration

Firestone has continued to pursue new large scale exploration projects in
Namaqualand. Following the recent signing of a joint venture with De Beers over
the Groen River Valley project, the Company has decided to increase its focus on
the identification of new projects similar to the Groen River Valley project
that have the potential to host significant reserves of large, high quality
diamonds. A number of suitable projects have already been identified, and the
Company expects to be able to announce developments in this regard in the coming
months.

Philip Kenny, CEO of Firestone Diamonds, commented today: 'We have made very
substantial progress in South Africa over the past six months, with the signing
of joint ventures with De Beers and Trans Hex and an acquisition from Trans Hex.
The Hondeklip Bay Mine and Marine Concession 7a are attractive projects, and
we are particularly excited about the prospects for our Groen River Valley
project, which we believe has the potential to become a world class alluvial
diamond producing area.'

For further information:

Philip Kenny, Firestone Diamonds: +44 20 7370 6452 / +44 7831 324 645
Leesa Peters, Conduit PR: +44 20 7618 8707/ +44 7812 159 885
Jamie Cumming, Bell Lawrie White: +44 141 314 8103 / +44 776 8044 620


Website:
www.firestonediamonds.com

Aldwick,

Thanks, but you missed one!

Firestone Diamonds PLC
15 July 2005

Orapa and Mopipi Joint Venture Projects in Botswana
Evaluation and exploration update


LONDON: 15 July 2005

HIGHLIGHTS

Microdiamonds recovered from kimberlites AK21, AK22 and AK23 in
Orapa Project area

Bulk sampling under way on AK21, AK22 and AK23 to test for
macrodiamonds

Kimberlite discovered on two targets in Mopipi and Orapa Project
areas, bringing number of kimberlites in the project areas to six

Firestone Diamonds plc ('Firestone' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce an
update on its Orapa and Mopipi kimberlite exploration projects in Botswana,
which are being explored by De Beers in joint venture with the Company.

Evaluation Results

In February 2005, the Company announced that three kimberlites had been
discovered in the Orapa Project area, approximately 15 kilometres south of
Debswana's Orapa Mine. Since then, detailed high resolution ground geophysical
surveys and drilling have been carried out on these kimberlites to provide an
initial estimate of their size. Samples of material recovered from drilling
have been processed at De Beers' laboratories in South Africa and all three
kimberlites have been proven to contain microdiamonds. Details of the results
from this initial work are as follows:


Kimberlite Estimated size Depth of Microdiamonds
(Hectares) overburden (m) recovered

AK21 (formerly known as X765) 3 65 3

AK22 (formerly known as X776) 3 (see note) 10 19

AK23 (formerly known as X777) 3.5 (see note) 10 197


Note: A drill hole between AK22 and AK23, which are 350 metres apart,
intersected kimberlite from a depth of 11 metres to 49 metres, indicating that
the two kimberlites coalesce close to surface. This provides a much larger area
of kimberlite close to surface, of approximately 9 hectares in size.

Proving the presence of sizeable new diamondiferous kimberlites close to the
Orapa Mine is a significant milestone for exploration in the area. On the basis
of these results, it has been decided to take bulk samples from all three
kimberlites to test for the presence of macrodiamonds. Four 12 inch diameter
holes will be drilled on each kimberlite to provide approximately 100 tonnes of
material for testing. In addition, a single 17 inch diameter hole will be
drilled to depth in the centre of each kimberlite. This material will be
processed at De Beers' macrodiamond laboratories in South Africa, and the
results will allow initial estimates of the macrodiamond grade and value for
each kimberlite to be made. Bulk sampling was recently completed on AK22 and is
in progress on AK23. Results of this work are expected to be available by the
end of the year.

Exploration Results

Thirty four new geophysical targets have been drilled in the Orapa Project and
Mopipi Project areas this year, and kimberlite was intersected on two of these
targets.

One of the targets is a new kimberlite, known as BK53, which is located in the
Mopipi Project area, approximately 10 kilometres north of the Letlhakane Mine.
Kimberlite was encountered at a depth of twelve metres, beneath a cover of
Kalahari sands and Kalahari calcrete. The hole remained in kimberlite to a
depth of 92 metres, where it entered Karoo sandstone. The hole was terminated
in Karoo sandstone at a depth of 113 metres.

On the other target where kimberlite was intersected, kimberlite was encountered
at a depth of 36 metres, beneath a cover of Kalahari sands, Kalahari calcrete
and basalt. The hole remained in kimberlite to a depth of 169 metres, where the
hole was terminated. This kimberlite is now believed to be part of the AK21
kimberlite.

These discoveries bring the number of kimberlites in the Orapa Project and
Mopipi Project areas to a total of six. Material recovered from drilling has
been dispatched to De Beers' laboratories in South Africa for processing to
recover kimberlitic indicator minerals and microdiamonds.

Geophysical surveys and exploration drilling are continuing in both project
areas. A number of follow up ground and airborne geophysical surveys have been
conducted over the past six months, in order to provide higher resolution data
in selected target areas where the presence of basalt has affected the quality
of data acquired from previous geophysical surveys. Ten targets are currently
at a drill-ready stage, and final geophysical interpretation and evaluation are
being carried out on an additional 32 targets.

Philip Kenny, CEO of Firestone Diamonds, commented today: 'We are very pleased
with the progress that De Beers has made with the Mopipi and Orapa joint venture
projects over the past twelve months. Given the fact that more than 10% of the
75 known kimberlites in the Orapa region are economic, we continue to believe
that the potential for new economic discoveries in the Orapa area is very good,
and look forward to further results from ongoing exploration and evaluation work
in the area over the coming months.'


For further information:

Philip Kenny, Firestone Diamonds: +44 20 7370 6452 / +44 7831 324 645
Leesa Peters, Conduit PR: +44 20 7618 8707/ +44 7812 159 885
Jamie Cumming, Bell Lawrie White: +44 141 314 8103 / +44 776 8044 620


Website:

www.firestonediamonds.com




BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Firestone Diamonds plc is an international diamond mining and exploration
company with operations in South Africa, Botswana and the United States.
Firestone is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market
(AIM), and trades under the symbol FDI.L.

Firestone has extensive diamond exploration interests in Botswana, which is the
world's largest producer of diamonds, with annual production of approximately 30
million carats, worth over $2.5 billion.

Firestone's interests in Botswana are as follows:

The Orapa and Mopipi Projects, which cover an area of approximately
4,900 square kilometers, are located close to the Orapa and Letlhakane
diamond mines and are being explored by De Beers in joint venture with
the Company.

The Jwaneng Project, which covers an area of approximately 3,700
square kilometers, is located close to the Jwaneng Mine and is being
explored by De Beers in joint venture with the Company.

The Daly City joint venture project covers an area of approximately
380 square kilometers and is located close to the Orapa and Letlhakane
diamond mines. The Company is in the process of earning an 81%
interest in this project.

Firestone also has extensive diamond mining and exploration interests in
Namaqualand, which is located on the west coast of South Africa and has been one
of the world's largest alluvial diamond producing regions for the past seventy
years, with total production to date estimated to be worth more than $3 billion.

Firestone's mining operations in Namaqualand include the Bonte Koe, Avontuur and
Oena Mines, all of which produce high quality alluvial diamonds, and a growing
portfolio of early stage and advanced exploration projects. In June 2005, the
Company entered into a joint venture with De Beers over the Company's Groen
River Valley exploration project, under the terms of which De Beers can earn a
61% interest in the project by financing all work up to completion of bankable
feasibility studies on the project.

Firestone also has a large scale kimberlite exploration project in the United
States. In 2004 the Company entered into a joint venture with American
Diamonds, which is in the process of earning a 60% interest in the project.


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Guys, this all sounds very promising and the sp has inched up today. Any views on where FDI maybe by the end of the year?

queen1,

the honest answer is higher than now, but I couldn't hazard a guess to how much higher, there are too many unknowns.

Many people on BB's pull figures out of the air, and multiply by as many as they like, I don't do that.

Today's new was, IMO, VERY positive, and it looks like FDI is building itself up to become a mid tier diamond producer in the mid term, and I think it will reward holders within the next one to three years.

The next key event is to put some numbers and grades to the Groen River, and the Botswanan kimberlite projects, then we may have a better idea.

The bankable feasability study for the Groen River is Q3 2006, so some time to wait before it's totally confirmed, but I feel we may here some preliminary numbers later this year.

The Botswanan kimberlite drilling is clearly continuing apace, and the discovery of microdiamonds is an excellent start, and they also slipped out that they now have SIX kimberlites, rather than the three they stated in the February RNS!

The Trans Hex deal looks exceptional, and the fact that the Avontuur mine can be utilised, giving economies of scale. I feel Avontuur is about to become a major mine, at least in revenue generating terms, and we cannot ignore the potential of this mine, especially as the marine gravels can give high carat yields.

The only slight negative was that Bonte Koe is currently not producing the grades and stones they were expecting, but I have confidence that they will improve, as alluvial mining is always tricky, and is at best hit and miss at times.

It does look as though 2006 will see a quantum leap in earnings, and FDI is rapidly becoming a larger and more serious company, and is the creme de la creme of the AIM diamond stocks IMHO.

What a great finish to the week!, good weekend all,

Andy.

Andy, thanks as always for your detailed and informative reply. Am looking forward to riding the FDI express with you!

Queen1,

All aboard!

Splendid!!!

queen1,

Interesting comment from today's Guardian!


-------------------------------

keep an eye on Aim-listed African Diamonds. Its shares eased 0.5p to 55.5p yesterday but market professionals believe disaffected shareholders, who control around 20% of the company, have approached rival Firestone Diamonds, 1p higher at 155.5p, with an offer to sell their shares.

African Diamonds and Firestone both have diamond projects in Botswana and also have joint ventures to develop their respective concessions with De Beers, the dominant player in the diamond industry.

Commenting on the rumours John Teeling, chairman of African Diamonds, said: "I have not been approached by Firestone but the speculation makes sense, given the value of our discoveries to date."


-------------------------------

Yes, very interesting. In your opinion Andy would this be a smart move should they act? I can see obvious reasons for making an approach but it could also be potentially detrimental in the short-term by creating a distraction from the very real day-to-day business of their existing operations.

queen1,

With regard to your comments made in the previous post, I agree with you completely, it WOULD (IMHO) be a distraction, and I would prefer to see FDI stay focussed on their core projects of Groen River and Botswana.

In addition, I cannot see John Teeling, who is shrewd, giving FDI any deal that would give value away, so I would prefer to see FDI continue to do what they do best, exploration.

Queen1,

This article has been posted today on Mineweb.com.
============================================

Decision on Firestones Groen River Valley next year
By: Gareth Tredway
Posted: '11-AUG-05 07:59' GMT Mineweb 1997-2004

GABORONE (Mineweb.com) -- Firestones Groen River Valley alluvial exploration project, which De Beers recently entered into as joint venture partner, could be at board decision level by next year.

Speaking at the Botswana Resource Conference on Wednesday, Firestones chief executive, Philip Kenny, says that once the exploration and drilling results yield a certain level of confidence, a decision will be made.

By the middle of next year, this is where we expect the project to be, and this is the stage where De Beers decides whether to build a mine or not, Kenny told delegates.

De Beers already mines extensively along the west coast of South Africa and Namibia, including at the mouth of the Groen River. But Kenny says Firestones large tenement inland is unexplored.

This is a multi-million carat, multi billion-dollar potential resource, said Kenny.

So far, with De Beers, 13 deposits have been identified in the area, while initial estimates are expected in the next couple of months on what is in the ground.

At this point we can say it is in the multi-100 million ton order of magnitude, says Kenny, say a 200-300 million ton resource.

We do think that, if we are right, there will be a number of mines in this area.

Firestone already operates the Avontuur and Oena Alluvial mines in Namaqualand, on the west coast of South Africa.

The company also has JV agreements with De Beers in Botswana, on the Orapa and Mopipi exploration projects.

There are also news reports out of London, that Firestone is in talks with large shareholders in African Diamonds, another Botswana diamond explorer, to buy its holdings in the company.

African Diamonds is also in a JV deal with De Beers in the Orapa area.

Queen1,

A brief mention in Shares today!

---------------------------------

Diamonds -

Miners just cant dig diamonds as quickly as the market wants and there is no sign that the production shortfall will disappear. Williams de Bro Tomlinson thinks that rough diamond prices could rise by 15% or more over the next 12 months.

The diamond business attracts plenty of companies the wise investor wouldnt entrust with a bent hapenny. But there are also several high-quality firms on the market, including Firestone Diamonds (FDI:AIM) which has excellent exploration projects in Botswana.

Andy, thanks for the posts. I must say, although it's finger-in-the-air stuff, the comment, This is a multi-million carat, multi billion-dollar potential resource, does sound wonderful! If only. Still, it sounds like it won't be too long (relatively speaking) until we'll have a better idea of the potential.

Quite a large fall today, apparently after a broking house issued a "sell" note, after the broker concerned stated that FDI were not including him in their news releases!

And holders sold based on that information?! Please. What is wrong with people....