Stornoway announces appointment of Chief Operating Officer

TSX: SWY

VANCOUVER, May 3 /CNW/ - Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX-SWY) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Patrick Godin eng. to the newly created position of Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately.

Mr. Godin is a professional mining engineer with more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of mine development, construction and operation. As Chief Operating Officer, he will be responsible for the day-to-day operational requirements of the Renard Diamond Project as it moves through feasibility, mine construction and into production. The Renard Diamond Project, located in north-central Québec, is a 50:50 joint venture with SOQUEM INC. ("SOQUEM").

Prior to joining Stornoway, Mr. Godin held the position of Vice President, Project Development, for G Mining Services Inc. of Montreal, with responsibility for the successful development of the Essakane Project in Burkina Faso under contract to IAMGOLD Corporation. Between 2007 and 2008 he oversaw the development of the Nunavik Nickel Project as Vice President Operations for Canadian Royalties Inc. Between 1991 and 2007 he held successively senior positions with Cambior Inc. and its affiliate companies, with experience in the development and management of several mining operations in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Québec, and culminating in the role of President and General Manager of CBJ-CAIMAN S.A.S., the Cambior, and subsequently IAMGOLD, subsidiary in French Guiana.

Mr. Godin is a member of the Ordre des Ingénieurs du Québec, a director of Orbit Garant Drilling Inc. (TSX-OGD), and a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Canada Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology ("CANMET").

Matt Manson, Stornoway's President and CEO, commented "We are very excited to welcome Patrick to our executive team as we move to the next level at Renard. Patrick will be tasked with building a Québec based mining team that will oversee the development of what we expect will be Québec's first diamond mine. Patrick's operating credentials and project development expertise will provide an essential complement to our existing diamond skill sets. His appointment marks the transition of Stornoway from mineral explorer to mine developer."

Also joining Stornoway's Québec based mining team will be two additional project managers tasked with overseeing key aspects of mine design, environmental assessment, and permitting. Mr. Robert Beaulieu has been appointed to the role of Manager, Engineering and Construction and Mr. Martin Boucher has been appointed to the role of Manager, Sustainable Development. Mr. Beaulieu and Mr. Boucher each bring more than 20 years of Québec and international mine development experience to their respective roles.

Pursuant to the above management appointments, Stornoway has granted a total of 1,220,000 incentive stock options pursuant to the terms of its Stock Option Plan. The options are exercisable on or before May 3, 2015 at price of $0.62 per share. Following this grant, the total number of incentive stock options issued will be 15,751,805, representing 5.5% of the total outstanding share capital.

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 six 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.

SOQUEM INC.

SOQUEM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Société générale de financement du Québec ("SGF"). SGF is the Québec government's main industrial and financial development corporation. Its mission is to undertake economic development projects in the industrial sector in cooperation with partners and in compliance with the economic development policies of the Government of Québec.

    
    On behalf of the Board
    STORNOWAY DIAMOND CORPORATION
    /s/ "Matt Manson"
    Matt Manson
    President and Chief Executive Officer
    

This document contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These 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. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to Stornoway's objectives for the ensuing year, as well as statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. The words "may," "could," "should," "would," "suspect," "outlook," "believe," "plan," "anticipate," "estimate," "potential", "expect," "intend," and words and expressions of similar import are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, statements regarding Stornoway's future operations, future exploration and development activities or other development plans contain forward-looking statements.

All forward-looking statements and information are based on Stornoway's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to them concerning the presence of diamonds and its host rocks at the Project, diamond values, diamond recovery and breakage, anticipated financial performance, business prospects, strategies, regulatory developments, development plans, exploration, development and mining activities and commitments. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements.

For further information: Matt Manson (President and CEO) at [phone] or Nick Thomas (Manager Investor Relations) at [phone], toll free at 1-877-331-2232; Pour plus d'information, veuillez contacter M. Ghislain Poirier (Vice-président Affaires Publiques) au [phone] ou [email protected] - Website: www.stornowaydiamonds.com, Email: [email protected]