Positive test results, Derryginagh

 

TIDMSDS 
 
RNS Number : 5270K 
Sunrise Diamonds PLC 
21 April 2010 
 

 
 
 
                            www.sunrisediamonds.com 
21 April 2010 
                          DERRYGINAGH BARITE PROJECT 
 
 RESULTS OF INITIAL METALLURGICAL TESTWORK POSITIVE FOR PRODUCTION OF HIGH VALUE 
                              FILLER-GRADE BARITE 
 
·     High-grade barite concentrate produced by simple gravity separation 
 
·     Initial colour testing results favourable for high-value filler grades 
_______________________________________________________________________ 
 
Sunrise Diamonds plc ("Sunrise" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it 
has received positive results from a preliminary programme of metallurgical 
testwork and colour testing of barite concentrate from the past-producing 
Derryginagh mine in Ireland. 
 
The Company is targeting the Derryginagh barite deposit for the production of 
high-value white barite for use as a mineral filler in paints and plastics. 
Barite is the mineral form of barium sulphate. 
 
Following the grant of an exploration licence at Derryginagh, in November last 
year, the Company has moved quickly to evaluate the commercial potential of the 
project. The initial testwork was carried out by SGS Mineral Services in 
Cornwall on two vein barite samples hand picked from the surface waste dumps. 
The tests included a simple gravity separation test which produced a very 
high-grade barite concentrate that exceeds the required chemical specification 
for the purest and highest value white filler grades of barite. Colour testing, 
carried out by an existing buyer of filler grade barite, was also favourable. 
 
The next stage of work will be to access the dry upper levels of the old mine 
workings to collect larger representative samples for more detailed testwork. It 
is intended that the results of this further testwork will allow for the design 
of a low cost plant for the production of saleable barite concentrate. 
 
Commenting today, the Chairman of Sunrise Mr Patrick Cheetham said "This is an 
excellent result. Our concept for Derryginagh is for a modest-sized underground 
mining operation feeding a low cost gravity separation plant producing 
high-value product. We believe that such an operation can be set up at a 
relatively low capital cost and produce valuable cash flow for the Company." 
 
 
For further information see Background information below, or contact: 
 
Patrick Cheetham, Sunrise Diamonds plc. Tel:  [phone]. Mobile: 
[phone] 
Gavin Burnell, Astaire Securities plc. Tel: [phone] 
 
 
The information in this release has been compiled and reviewed by Mr. Patrick 
Cheetham (MIMMM, MAusIMM) who is a qualified person for the purposes of the AIM 
Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009.   Mr Cheetham is a 
Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining and also a member of the 
Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy. 
 
 
 
Background Information 
 
Barite or barites (syn. baryte or barytes) is an environmentally friendly, 
non-toxic natural product. It is chemically and physically unreactive, has a 
high specific gravity, and low oil adsorption. It also has good sound-deadening 
and radiation-shielding properties. These properties make barite suitable for 
use as a weighting agent in oil industry drilling muds and as a higher value 
industrial filler in, for example, paints, plastics, brake linings and acoustic 
panels. 
 
The Derryginagh 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 
GBP195-220/tonne delivered in the UK. 
 
This information is provided by RNS 
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange 
   END 
 
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