RSS UpdatesCompany Information for Sunrise Diamonds Plc
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 AIM; SDS
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Company Statement
Sunrise Diamonds’ main business interest is exploration for diamonds in the Karelian Craton in Finland a geological block that is host to a number of world-class diamondiferous kimberlites (Grib, Lomonosova) in the Arkhangelsk region of neighbouring Russia. Its shares trade on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM) and on PLUS Markets under the trading symbol "SDS".
The Company was formed in 2005 to continue the diamond exploration activities of its parent, Tertiary Minerals plc. A pre-IPO fundraising was completed as an entitlement issue to the shareholders of Tertiary Minerals and was followed with a placing on AIM admission on 6 June 2005.
Following the decline in demand and prices of diamonds in 2008/9 the Company has sought to widen its interests and is seeking project interests in a wider range of commodities.
Current Operations
Finland
Kuusamo Project
In northern Finland the diamond exploration interests held by Sunrise Diamonds include seven new kimberlites discovered in a previously unrecognised cluster in north central Finland, now known as the “Kuusamo” kimberlite cluster and numerous additional untested targets in the same area. The Kuusamo project is located in the centre of the Karelian Craton which extends from Sweden, through Finland and eastwards into Russia.
The kimberlites are located in the following project areas:
- Kalettomanpuro
- Kattaisenvaara
- Anomalies 45/47
- Lampi
Micro-diamonds have been recovered from three Kuusamo kimberlites in preliminary sampling.
Australia
Cue Project
In October 2009 the Company applied for an exploration licence targeting diamonds, platinum group metals (PGM’s) and gold in Western Australia.
The exploration licence application (ELA20/727) covers an area of approximately 70 square km and is located 70km to the north-west of the town of Cue in the Murchison Mineral Field in the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia.
The Cue region was explored by De Beers in the period 1994-2002 during which time De Beers discovered a number of kimberlite dykes in two separate areas within the Company’s application area.
At the "Cue 1" locality a kimberlite dyke outcrops and is reported by De Beers to be 2-3 m wide. Several drill holes intersected the dyke and one vertical hole intersected kimberlite from surface to 60m depth. At Soapy Well, 7km to the west, at least three closely spaced kimberlite dykes, up to 3 m wide, were encountered in two drill traverses spaced 400m apart.
De Beers described the Cue project kimberlites as olivine macrocrystic hypabyssal kimberlites. It did not report the results of diamond sampling, although some time after the first discovery of the Cue 1 kimberlite De Beers described the area as having "...excellent potential for discovery of kimberlites and diamonds."
De Beers carried out an extensive regional exploration programme in the north-west part of the Yilgarn Craton involving stream sediment sampling, soil sampling, airborne geophysics and drill testing. De Beers last open-file report on the area reported that “….anomalous heavy mineral results from areas that are structurally analogous to the Cue and Soapy Well kimberlites suggest that additional kimberlite intrusions remain to be found.” Sunrise has carried out a preliminary evaluation of these results and included the most anomalous areas within its exploration licence application.
Also of interest within the licence area is a sulphide-bearing gabbro dyke that was intersected in several drill holes by De Beers prior to the discovery of the Cue 1 kimberlite. Although not of interest to De Beers for diamond exploration, the gabbro dyke is now targeted by Sunrise for PGM’s and gold. It is located in the same region as the Weld Range PGM deposit (inferred resource >0.5 million ounces platinum+palladium+gold) the discovery of which was initiated by the current Sunrise Executive Chairman, Patrick Cheetham, when Joint Managing Director of Dragon Mining NL.
The new licence application area has not been held under licence since the De Beers licences expired and their exploration results did not become open file until 2006. Consequently the occurrence of the Cue kimberlites is not widely documented.
The Company has applied for Exploration Licence 20/727 through a new wholly owned subsidiary in Australia – Sunrise Minerals Australia Pty Ltd.
The Cue project is the first of a number of new projects planned by the Company to broaden its geographical base and widen its commodity interests which, to date, have been focused on diamond exploration in Finland.
Ireland
Derryginagh Project
In November 2009 the Company was granted a Prospecting Licence for base metals, barite, silver, gold and platinum group elements near Bantry, County Cork, in the south-west of the Irish Republic.
The Company is targeting the Derryginagh barite deposit for the production of high value white “paint-grade” barite for use as mineral filler in paints and plastics. White paint-grade barite is the highest-value use for barite having significant sales volumes. Off-white barite is used as a lower value mineral filler and high volumes of low-grade barite are used as a weighting agent in drilling mud in the oil and gas industry.
The Derrryginagh mine was worked in the period 1864-1922, supplying white barite to the local paint industry. The mine workings extend over a strike length of 200m and to a maximum depth of 60m. In the 1970s the mine workings were de-watered and mapped by a local company and in the 1980s four holes were drilled to intersect the barite vein at 100 meters below surface by Dresser Minerals International Inc., which was then a major supplier of drilling mud grade barite around the world.
All four Dresser holes intersected white barite over an average width of 2.4m and over a total strike length of 200m, with the vein being open along strike and at depth.
There is a significant demand for white paint-grade barite in Europe but no major mine supply outside of China and India. Consequently there is a niche opportunity for a new European supplier as China’s own internal demand limits traditional exports. The price currently quoted for white paint-grade barite is £195-220/tonne delivered to the UK.
The Company will collect samples of the barite mineralisation for metallurgical characterisation and quality testing before undertaking further drilling and economic evaluation.
Geographical Spread
Finland, Austalia and Ireland
Board of Directors and Key Management
| Patrick Cheetham | Executive Chairman |
| Francis Johnstone | (Senior) Non-Executive Director |
| Neil Herbert | Non-Executive Director |
| Colin Fitch | Company Secretary |
| Andrew Dixon | Project Manager, New Business Development |
Company AddressSunrise HouseHulley Road
|
CapitalIssued Share Capital 187,783,377 |
Annual General MeetingJanuary | Year End30th September |
Nominated BrokersAstaire Securities plc | Nominated AdvisorsAstaire Securities plc |
Broker/Analyst Reports
02/08/07 - Hardman & Co.
Major Shareholders
| Major Shareholders | Holding | % |
| Pershing Keen Nominees Limited GWCLT | 50,497,001 | 26.89% |
| Tertiary Minerals plc | 25,751,785 | 13.71% |
| Starvest Plc | 14,183,333 | 7.55% |
| * Patrick L Cheetham | 9,826,062 | 5.23% |
| Fitel Nominees Limited C054494 | 7,000,000 | 3.73% |
| * includes 5,500,000 held by K E Cheetham, wife of P L Cheetham |
Related News
10/02/10 - As The Diamond Market Shows Signs Of Life, Sunrise Diamonds Goes On The Hunt For Deals02/11/09 - New Departures For Sunrise Diamonds, As Patrick Cheetham Targets Bootstrap Operations And Bigger Acquisitions Too
20/05/09 - The Sun Has Not Yet Set On Sunrise Diamonds, Although A Little Bit Of Diversification Looks A Distinct Possibility In The Near Future
Most Recent Statement
08/12/09 - Grant of Warrants25/11/09 - New Project, Ireland
04/11/09 - Cue Project - Diamond Update
29/10/09 - New Project, Australia
17/08/09 - Change of Adviser
31/07/09 - Total Voting Rights