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NEWS RELEASE
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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DIADEM COMMENCES GROUND MAGNETIC SURVEY ON FRANKLIN DIAMOND PROJECT
TORONTO, April 2, 2008 – Diadem
Resources Ltd. (TSX–V: "DRL") today
issued an updated progress report for the Franklin
Diamond Project. The Project is located on the Parry Peninsula
in the Canadian Arctic, approximately 30 km northwest of Paulatuk in the
Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the Northwest
Territories. The location of the Project, and the
Company’s claims, are shown on previously published maps which may be viewed,
with additional geological information, on the Diadem website at www.diademresources.com.
Diadem
proposes to carry out up to 5,000 metres of diamond drilling following
completion and analysis of further detailed ground gradiometer magnetic surveys
which have commenced this week and will be completed by the end of April. The
surveys are to better define the precise locations of drill targets. Permitting
for the drilling program is currently in process. Costs of the ground survey
and related work and permitting will satisfy Diadem’s final earn-in requirement.
To date, Diadem has invested over $3.5 million in the Franklin Diamond Project. To satisfy its remaining 50% earn-in
requirement it is making further expenditures of about $450,000 by June 30,
2008.
The total
cost of the 2008 program (including the current ground mag survey, drilling, permitting,
environmental impact studies and helicopter and other support) is up to an
additional $3.0 million, including work already underway. The full drill program
will evaluate 10 known kimberlite pipes, six of which are known to be
diamond-bearing, and 18 additional high-priority ground magnetic anomalies.
Diadem plans to explore additional targets that have been identified over the
winter from further analysis of previous ground and aero mag surveys and that
may be identified from the current survey.
The
following is a summary of the current status of the exploration program:
- Administration of the drilling, other exploration
programs and related permitting continues to be carried out by Taiga
Consultants Ltd. of Calgary,
Alberta. Tim Sandberg, P.
Geol. of Taiga, is Diadem’s Qualified Person for such purpose under
NI 43-101.
- The detailed ground gradiometer magnetic survey is
being carried out by JVX Ltd. of Richmond
Hill, Ontario.
- All required permits for the ground mag survey
are in place. Applications for all required permits and approvals for the
drilling program from the Inuvialuit Land Administration, Environmental
Impact Screening Committee (EISC), Northwest Territories Water Board and
the Workers Compensation Board are being compiled.
- Communications with organizations and individuals
native to the project area are ongoing. In this respect Diadem is
operating within the spirit of the memorandum of understanding signed in
March 2008 between the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada
and the Assembly of First Nations.
- Extensive preparations are being made to mitigate
any environmental effects and to minimize interference with caribou, birds,
aquatic life and other wildlife.
- As part of the permitting process, Diadem retained
Kavik-Axys Inc.,
an Inuvialuit environmental consulting firm and affiliate of Jacques Whitford,
to prepare and file reports to the EISC for its review and approval. This
was a condition precedent to certain permits being issued. A project
description was prepared and filed and the EISC approval was obtained for
the ground mag
survey. Kavik-Axys Inc. currently is compiling the project description
for the drilling program for submission to the EISC.
- A number of Inuvialuit contractors and
sub-contractors, as well as Canadian Helicopters, will be providing a
variety of services to Diadem over the duration of the exploration program
which is expected to extend well into 2008. This includes environmental
and wildlife monitoring.
- In order to minimize mobilization costs, last
July Diadem transported bulk supplies and consumables to Paulatuk, taking
advantage of the Project’s good access to water transport via the
MacKenzie River and Arctic Ocean. Similar
transportation arrangements are anticipated for 2008.
Diadem
will form a 50/50 joint venture with Darnley Bay Resources Ltd. (DBR) and Diadem
will be the operator. If a decision is made to carry out a feasibility study
for a diamond mine, Diadem has the right to fund the study and if the property
is advanced to commercial production, Diadem’s 50% interest will increase
to 75% and DBR’s interest will decrease to 25%.
In
2004, Diadem and DBR signed an agreement with the Inuvialuit Regional
Corporation (IRC) for access, for the purposes of mineral exploration,
development and operation of a diamond mine, and for royalties upon commercial
production. Such an agreement with the indigenous peoples of the area is an
essential ingredient of any project in the Arctic.
The IRC has the right to back into the project for a participating 10% working
interest when a decision is made to place a diamond mine into production. In such
event, the dilution will be shared proportionately between Diadem and DBR.
For further information, please contact:
Paul A. Carroll, Chairman and CEO
Phone: 416-369-6080
Fax: 416-369-6088
Email: paul.carroll@diademresources.com
Website: www.diademresources.com
The TSX Venture Exchange does not
accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the information contained in this news release.