great announcement today second mine soon

some extracts:

The Brisbane-based diamond exploration, mine development and mining company is currently bringing into production the Lerala diamond mine in Botswana. Mining is scheduled to
commence at Lerala in November 2007 and diamond production in early 2008. The Lerala Mine is expected to produce an average of 330,000 carats per year over 10 years.

“Stockpiles of diamonds that dominant producers maintained for many years are now believed to be virtually eliminated. Demand is expected to rise at 4 to 5% a year over the next 7 years at a time when supplies are expected to actually decline. The world is facing this sustained undersupply because there are not enough new diamond mining projects in the global pipeline to meet demand. Against this background, diamond prices should increase strongly, a trend that could be accelerated if demand from China and other emerging markets moves in the same way as it has for metals.

DIAMONEX ACQUIRES KIMBERLITE PIPES IN USA
• Proceeding immediately to resource definition program
• Second stage in global diamond mine development strategy

“DiamonEx has maintained rapid momentum in bringing the Lerala mine into production less than four years after the company listed,” Mr O’Neill said. “We now plan to accelerate even further with the United States project which is potentially bigger than our successful initial
development in Botswana.

Mr O’Neill said that DiamonEx would proceed immediately to a large diameter drilling programme which would provide bulk samples that would be evaluated for grade, with the aim of establishing a JORC-compliant Resource.

“We plan to proceed rapidly to a feasibility study and associated exploration in the United States. With cash flow expected to commence from the Lerala mine in early 2008 , we will be in a strong position to pursue our growth strategy based on advanced, high potential projects in Botswana, the United States and globally,” Mr O’Neill said.