Here it is THE AGESparkling future for SA diamond hunterEmail...

Here it is

THE AGE

Sparkling future for SA diamond hunter
Email Print Normal font Large font AdvertisementBarry Fitzgerald
June 27, 2008

FLINDERS Mines has received some early encouragement in its South Australian diamond hunt after recovering 10 diamonds from surface soil sampling at a prospect near Peterborough.

Managing director Kevin Wills said the results were the "most significant soil diamond results known to the company in SA".

Dr Wills — who was involved in the Argyle diamond mine discovery in Western Australia — cautioned much more work was needed before the "true significance of the discovery is known". Flinders shares firmed 1¢ to 22.5¢.

"What is exciting about the discovery is that the diamonds are at surface, and are contained within four sites clustered together no more than 1½ kilometres apart," he said.

The gem-quality stones included four macro-diamonds (above half a millimetre in size) and six micro-diamonds.

"This frequency and scattering in such a close-spread exploration footprint provides us with significant confidence to progress more detailed ground investigations," Dr Wills said.

The company recently changed its name from Flinders Diamonds after shooting to prominence in November last year on the strength of its iron ore interests in the Pilbara, close to those of Fortescue Metals.

Flinders Diamonds rocketed 790% in a day, from 1¢ to 8.9¢, on its November announcement that a permit it holds next to Fortescue Metals' 1-billion-tonne Serenity iron ore find in the Pilbara could host up to 390 million tonnes of iron ore.

Flinders has been exploring the tenements for elusive diamonds since June 2003, but only decided to check out its iron potential last year, given the activity of Fortescue and the market's craving for anything with leverage to the China-led iron ore boom.

Flinders is close to a drilling program on its iron ore property to confirm its potential.