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

Two good days in a row Andy, whatever next?!

queen1,

An RNS tomorrow morning?

Let's hope we can make it three good days in a row!

RNS!

Click HERE




Firestone Diamonds PLC
11 October 2006

Firestone Diamonds plc

Prospecting licences granted over the Tsabong kimberlite field in Botswana

LONDON: 11 October 2006

HIGHLIGHTS

Prospecting licences granted over the Tsabong kimberlite field in
Botswana, one of the largest diamondiferous kimberlite fields in the world,
with 67 known kimberlites, of which 17 are diamondiferous

Tsabong contains many large kimberlites, including the 180 hectare M1
kimberlite and 5 kimberlites larger than 50 hectares

Known kimberlites have not been evaluated with modern techniques

Good potential for discovery of new, large diamondiferous kimberlites

Threshold for economic viability in the Tsabong area is modest - 20-25
cpht and diamond value of $100 per carat

Exploration and evaluation plans to be finalised by end October 2006,
following which field work will commence

Firestone Diamonds plc ('Firestone' or 'the Company'), the AIM-quoted diamond
mining and exploration company, is pleased to announce that it has been granted
new prospecting licences over an area of approximately 5,000 square kilometres,
covering the entire Tsabong kimberlite field in Botswana.

The Tsabong kimberlite field is located in south western Botswana, approximately
280 km south west of the Jwaneng Mine, which is the world's biggest diamond
mine. Tsabong is one of the largest diamondiferous kimberlite fields in the
world, containing 67 known kimberlites, of which 17 have been proven to be
diamondiferous. Tsabong is noted for the exceptionally large size of many of
its kimberlites, in particular the 180 hectare M1 kimberlite, which is one of
the largest diamondiferous kimberlites in the world. The Tsabong field also
contains 5 kimberlites each larger than 50 hectares and 30 kimberlites between
20 and 50 hectares in size.


Philip Kenny, CEO of Firestone Diamonds, commented today: 'The acquisition of an
entire diamondiferous kimberlite field in Botswana is a very significant
development for Firestone. With the kimberlite exploration and evaluation
expertise that we now have in the Company, and with our cash and cash flow from
mining operations in South Africa, we will be able to move the Tsabong project
forward rapidly and aggressively. The probable development by De Beers and
African Diamonds of a new diamond mine in the Orapa area on the AK6 kimberlite,
which was originally discovered and evaluated in the 1970's and considered at
that time to be a small, low-grade kimberlite, provides an indication of the
potential that still remains in Botswana. I look forward to updating
shareholders on our plans for Tsabong as they develop in due course.'

Ray A,

This RNS certainly reads well, in particular I like this snippet;


"Tsabong is one of the largest diamondiferous kimberlite fields in the
world, containing 67 known kimberlites, of which 17 have been proven to be
diamondiferous. Tsabong is noted for the exceptionally large size of many of
its kimberlites, in particular the 180 hectare M1 kimberlite, which is one of
the largest diamondiferous kimberlites in the world. The Tsabong field also
contains 5 kimberlites each larger than 50 hectares and 30 kimberlites between
20 and 50 hectares in size".
----------


IMO this licence win has massively increased FDI's potential and prospects, and hopefully, this will be reflected in a higher market price in due course.

AFD's AK6 (probable) mine was only considered to be 3 hectares in size when found, and is now 10 hectares in size, whereas FDI's M1 is 180 hectares!

I also think the two pronged exploration approach planned is the correct one, as this gives the prospect of more newsflow from either new kimbelite finds, or results from bulk sampling the known ones.

Andy,

Thanks for that, I agree a very positive picture for Botswana

Andy,

Thanks for that, I agree a very positive picture for Botswana

Andy,

Thanks for that, I agree a very positive picture for Botswana

Ray A,

I feel the market was expecting GRV news, so the price is static at the moment, but I think once people have had an opportunity to digest this news, and PK has presented at Merrill Lynch this afternoon, hopefully this enormous increase in exploration potential will be taken into account with a higher share price.

Interestingly AFD is up today, on no news!

Andy,

Yes, I agree. Had considered top slicing some recent purchases but decided to hold back when profit takers rapidly pulled SP back a little.

Interesting comment re AFD, reminds me when HNR RNS pulled SEY back for news already in public domain!

ray A,

Well I closed my spreads at the top, but held onto my stock.

Since then they have played around with the price, PK is due to speak anytime now, so we may see a few late buys if the audience like what they hear.

Andy,

Not tried spreads yet. Still, decided to sell a few of recent purchases at end of day and got 124.9 p, the highest sell SP I've seen today. Not bad after picking them up at 86.7p a couple of months ago. Kept plenty back for further travel North! SP looks pretty solid today despite all the profit taking.

Ray A,

Yes it's not a profit until it's in the bank, and with a 50% markup in quick time it's not a bad move to secure some profits IMO, well done!

It will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow, whether there is any follow through with volume.

What a good day!

queen1,

Aye!

let's hope PK's presentation went down well with the attendees at the Merrill Lynch Forum today.

see whether this run as further to go or not in the morning when the market opens

parkin,

Well a bit further, but it's maybe reached it's limit for the moment, although the volume is ok.

There is always the possibility of further news in the immediate future as they have so many projects ongoing, so FDI is not for trading at the moment IMO.

Andy, Parkin,

I agree, having taken a good profit the other day, shall hang onto the other two thirds of trading packet I picked up recently until next item of news, Second sample from GRV cannot be too far away surely!

All the gains are being given back here. A bad day on the markets admittedly but it has also been badly down the previous two days which were market-positive.

Firestones diamond exploration plans for Tsabong
By: Rodrick Mukumbira
Posted: '16-OCT-06 13:00' GMT Mineweb 1997-2006




WINDHOEK (Mineweb.com) --AIM-quoted Firestone Diamond plc, a company with 40-
year experience in diamond mining, was this week working towards finalising its
exploration and evaluation plans - due end of October - after the Botswana
government granted it new prospecting licences covering the entire Tsabong
kimberlite field.

A statement from Firestone's CEO Philip Kenny said the Tsabong field, covering
an area of 5,000 square kilometres and located 280 kilometres south west of the
Jwaneng Mine - the world's biggest diamond mine, is one of the largest
diamondiferous kimberlite fields in the world, containing 67 known kimberlites,
of which 17 have been proven to be diamondiferous.

It also pointed out that the Tsabong area represents an attractive financial
prospect, its economic viability being modest -- 20-25 carats per hundred
tonnes and diamond value of US$100 per carat.

Firestone is also active in the Namaqualand region of South Africa, one of the
most prolific alluvial diamond producing areas in the world, where it operates
the Avontuur, Bonte Koe and Oena mines.

"With the kimberlite exploration and evaluation expertise that we now have in
the Company, and with our cash and cash flow from mining operations in South
Africa, we will be able to move the Tsabong project forward rapidly and
aggressively," said Kenny.

Since 2004, Firestone has also been cooperating with De Beers, the world's
largest diamond mining company in an exploration project in Mopipi, west of
Orapa - a government/De Beers owned diamond mine, following a joint venture.

Firestone said the Tsabong kimberlite field was discovered by Falconbridge in
the 1970s. Between 1977 and 1981 Falconbridge discovered a total of 35
kimberlites in the Tsabong area, including the M1 kimberlite.

It said a limited amount of evaluation was carried out on these kimberlites,
primarily due to their being covered by between 40 and 80 metres of overburden,
which was considered at the time to be deep and close to the limit for
effective evaluation and mining purposes. An extended slump on commodity prices
in the early 1980s forced Falconbridge to stop working on the Tsabong field as
well as withdrawing from its other diamond exploration projects worldwide.

No further work was carried out on the Tsabong kimberlites until the mid 1990s
to 2004 when exploration, on an intermittent basis, was done by a number of
small Canadian and Australian exploration companies with limited budgets
without a new exploration or evaluation work.

Firestone plans to carry out two parallel work programmes at Tsabong, the first
focusing on a detailed and systematic evaluation of all the known kimberlites
in the field.

The second work programme will focus on exploration for new kimberlites. It
said it is in the advanced stage of planning for the projects and expects
fieldwork to commence in November.

Planning for these programmes is at an advanced stage and is expected to be
completed by the end of October 2006, following which preparations for
fieldwork will commence.

"Access to the area is via tarred road from Gaborone and infrastructure in the
area is good, so no significant difficulties are expected in carrying out
fieldwork," said Kenny. "The probable development by De Beers and African
Diamonds of a new diamond mine in the Orapa area on the AK6 kimberlite
(announced in September), which was originally discovered and evaluated in the
1970s and considered at that time to be a small, low-grade kimberlite, provides
an indication of the potential that still remains in Botswana."

I attended the recent Mines and Money Conference, and in particular, the FDI presentation.

Here are my thoughts.


I attended the presentation, and can confirm that PK was both positive and well received by one of the lergest audiences for a single company presentation over the duration of the conference.

Phil spoke mostly about the new Tsabong licence, and emphasised the low CPHT required to make a viable mine. He also pointed out the number of known large kimberlites, and the fact that they are using a two pronged approach to drill the known kimberlites at the same time as exploring for others yet to be discovered, effectively a fast track approach.

GRV also featured, and further bulk samples have been taken and FDI are awaiting these results from De Beers.

Phil also confirmed Bonte Koe is on track, with full production due Q1 2007.

The De Beers Zeppelin has overflown FDI land recently, and exploration continues apace at Daly City, and other sites in the Orapa area of Botswana.

I had a chat with Phil and Tim at the stand and they ran throught the aero mag, and it was clear to see where further exploration targets may reside at Tsabong.

I came away feeling more bullish about FDI than I have for some time to be honest, and as final results are due, IMO it is possible they may deliver some news around that time, we shall see.