Stornoway Announces New Appointments to the Board of Directors
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/20/11 -- Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX: SWY) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mme Monique Mercier, M. John LeBoutillier and M. Michel Blouin to the Company's Board of Directors, effective immediately.
The new appointments have been made pursuant to the recent acquisition by Stornoway of the 50% interest in Renard Diamond Project previously held by DIAQUEM Inc. ('DIAQUEM'), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SOQUEM INC., itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of Investissement Quebec. The Renard Diamond Project is Stornoway's flagship property, with a Feasibility Study and an associated Environmental and Social Impact Assessment on track for completion in the third quarter of this year. As provided under the terms of the acquisition and permitted under the Articles of Stornoway, the new directors have been designated by Investissement Quebec and appointed by the Board of Directors.
Monique Mercier is the Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President, Legal, with Telus Communications Inc. She has held a number of senior positions in the fields of securities and corporate law, human resources and corporate governance in the information technology, health and telecom sectors since 1989, including with BCE Inc., Bell Canada International Inc. and Emergis Inc. Amongst many industry and corporate board appointments, Mme Mercier has served as a member of the board of directors of the Societe generale de financement du Quebec (2006-2010) and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Canadian General Counsel.
John LeBoutillier is the Chairman of the board of directors of Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc., Canada's fourth largest life and health insurance company, and a respected senior figure in the Quebec mining industry. Between 1983 and 1996 he served as President & CEO of Sidbec-Dosco (now ArcelorMittal Montreal Inc.), and between 1996 and 2000 as President & CEO of the Iron Ore Company of Canada. M. LeBoutillier also serves on the boards of Mazarin Inc. and Semafo Inc. and is the Chairman of the board of directors of Groupe Deschenes Inc. In 2000, he was a member of the Quebec Commission of Inquiry into Health and Social Services (the Clair Commission) and, in 2001, a member of the Canadian Democracy and Corporate Accountability Commission (the Bennett/Broadbent Commission). M. LeBoutillier served as a member of the board of directors of the Societe generale de financement du Quebec between 1996 and 2010, and is a recipient of the Order of Canada.
Michel Blouin is a partner at Lavery, one of Quebec's leading law firms, with many years of experience specializing in securities law for the mining sector. The 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada directory recognizes M. Blouin as one of Canada's best lawyers in Natural Resources Law. M. Blouin is the Honorary Consul of Denmark for Quebec, and a Director and Special Secretary-Treasurer of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
Eira Thomas, Chairman of the Board of Directors, commented: 'On behalf of my fellow directors, I would like to welcome Monique, John and Michel to Stornoway's Board. These new appointments come at an exciting time in the Company's evolution as we await the receipt of the Renard Feasibility Study and look ahead to the task of developing Quebec's first diamond mine. In this context, we are pleased to be able to announce the appointment of three such experienced and talented members of the Quebec business community.'
Concurrent with the new appointments, M. Jean-Jacques Carrier, Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial and Risk Officer of Investissement Quebec, will step down as DIAQUEM's designated director on Stornoway's Board, a position he has held since April 1, 2011. Stornoway would like to thank M. Carrier for his service to the Company. The three new directors are all considered Independent Directors in compliance with National Instrument 52-110. A total of 75,000 incentive stock options have been awarded in connection with the appointments.
About Stornoway Diamond Corporation
Stornoway Diamond Corporation is one of Canada's leading diamond exploration and development companies, involved in the discovery of over 200 kimberlites in seven Canadian diamond districts. The Company benefits from a diversified diamond property portfolio, a strong financial platform and management and technical teams with experience in each segment of the diamond 'pipeline' from exploration to marketing.
About the Renard Diamond Project
The Renard Diamond Project is located approximately 250 km north of the Cree community of Mistissini and 350 km north of Chibougamau in the James Bay region of North-Central Quebec. In May 2010, Stornoway filed a National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report for the Preliminary Assessment at Renard that estimated the project to have the potential to produce approximately 30 million carats of diamonds over a 25 year mine life, with a pre-tax Net Present Value of C$885 million (at an 8% discount rate) and an Internal Rate of Return of 24.8%. National Instrument 43-101 compliant Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources currently stand at 23.8 and 17.5 million carats respectively, with a further 23.5 to 48.5 million carats classified as a non-resource, 'potential mineral deposit'. All kimberlites remain open at depth. Total capital investment is currently estimated to be $511 million, with an average operating expenditure of approximately $67 million per year and a workforce of 300 people. Readers are referred to the technical report in respect of the Renard Diamond Project for further details and assumptions relating to the project.
On behalf of the Board
STORNOWAY DIAMOND CORPORATION
Matt Manson, President and Chief Executive Officer
This document contains 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information and these statements, referred to herein as 'forward-looking statements' are made as of the date of this document and the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect current expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the amount of mineral resources and potential mineral deposits; (ii) the amount of future production over any period; (iii) net present value and internal rates of return of the proposed mining operation; (iv) capital costs and operating costs; (v) mine expansion potential and expected mine life; and (vi) expected time frames for completion of permitting and regulatory approvals, completion of a Feasibility Study and making a production decision. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as 'expects', 'anticipates', 'plans', 'projects', 'estimates', 'assumes', 'intends', 'strategy', 'goals', 'objectives' or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will' be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements are based on Stornoway's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. Many of these assumptions are set forth in the news release and include: (i) estimates of net present value and internal rates of return; (ii) estimates of potential production and duration of mine life; (iii) estimated completion date for the Feasibility Study; (iv) required capital investment and estimated workforce requirements; (v) receipt of regulatory approvals on acceptable terms within commonly experienced time frames; (vi) the assumption that the partners will make a production decision, and that decision will be positive; (vii) anticipated timelines for the commencement of mine production. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Many forward-looking statements are made assuming the correctness of other forward looking statements, such as statements of net present value and internal rate of return, which are based on most of the other forward-looking statements and assumptions herein. The cost information is also prepared using current values, but the time for incurring the costs will be in the future and it is assumed costs will remain stable over the relevant period.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates expressed above do not occur, including the assumption in many forward-looking statements that other forward-looking statements will be correct, but specifically include, without limitation, risks relating to variations in the grade, kimberlite lithologies and country rock content within the material identified as mineral resources from that predicted, variations in rates of recovery and breakage; the greater uncertainty of potential mineral deposits, developments in world diamond markets, slower increases in diamond valuations than assumed, risks relating to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar and other currencies relative to the US dollar, increases in the costs of proposed capital and operating expenditures, increases in financing costs or adverse changes to the terms of available financing, if any, tax rates or royalties being greater than assumed, results of exploration in areas of potential expansion of resources, changes in development or mining plans due to changes in other factors or exploration results of Stornoway or its joint venture partners, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, risks relating to receipt of regulatory approvals or settlement of an Impact and Benefits Agreement, the effects of competition in the markets in which Stornoway operates, operational and infrastructure risks and the additional risks described in Stornoway's most recently filed Annual Information Form, annual and interim MD&As, and Stornoway's anticipation of and success in managing the foregoing risks. Stornoway cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Stornoway, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Stornoway does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by Stornoway or on our behalf, except as required by law.
Contacts:
Stornoway Diamond Corporation
Matt Manson
President and CEO
416-304-1026
Stornoway Diamond Corporation
Nick Thomas
Manager Investor Relations
604-983-7754 or Toll Free at 1-877-331-2232
info@stornowaydiamonds.com
Stornoway Diamond Corporation
M. Ghislain Poirier
Vice-president Affaires publiques
418-780-3938
gpoirier@stornowaydiamonds.com
www.stornowaydiamonds.com