RVD River Diamonds

RNS Number:1963R
River Diamonds PLC
31 March 2008

                               River Diamonds PLC
                      (the 'Company' or 'River Diamonds')

              Trading Update from the Vatukoula Gold Mine in Fiji


River Diamonds would like to announce a Trading update from the Vatukoula Gold
Mine in Fiji.

In the 6 month period to end December 2007, efforts have been focused on
re-commissioning the mine.  Key milestones reached at the mine during this
period are:

  * Pouring of the first 503 ounces of gold since the mine was placed on care
    and maintenance in December 2006;
  * Re - commissioning of operational shafts and ore and waste passes;
  * Commencement of mining with 1,211 tonnes of ore grading at 10.59 grams of
    gold per tonne being hauled to the surface; and
  * Preparation of the Treatment Plant for commissioning.


Since the beginning of January 2008, mining of ore has continued at the mine
with 11,992 tonnes of ore extracted grading at 11.03 grams of gold per tonne.
Therefore there is currently 13,203 tonnes of ore in stockpile ready to be
processed (approximately 4,667 ounces of gold). Mining operations will be
accelerated forthwith to achieve the mine's initial production schedule of
110,000 ounces of gold per annum.

Ore from mining activities is being stockpiled at surface and underground.
Maintenance of the crushing and flotation sections of the Treatment Plant is
almost complete. Processing of the ore is scheduled to commence in April 2008
once the funds from the placing have been made available to the Company.

In addition, since 13th March 2008 a further 301 ounces of gold has been poured.
This gold was recovered during the maintenance of the Treatment Plant.

In the six month period to 31 December 2007, expenditures of approximately �5.5
million have been incurred at the mine. These expenditures have been primarily
in relation to the re-commissioning of the mine, and part payment of historic
creditors.  There were no revenues from the mine over that period as gold
produced had not been sold during the period.

The mine currently has 526 staff and will build up in the next 5 weeks to
approximately 700 people.


Qualified Person

Kiran Morzaria B.Eng (ACSM), MBA, has reviewed and approved the information
contained in this announcement. Kiran holds a Bachelor of Engineering
(Industrial Geology) from the Camborne School of Mines and an MBA (Finance) from
CASS Business School. Kiran is the Finance Director of River Diamonds. He is a
fellow of the Geological Society.


Notes to Editors

River Diamonds indirectly owns a 19% interest in the share capital of Westech
Gold Pty Ltd ("Westech") which, through its wholly owned direct and indirect
subsidiaries, owns the mining rights and associated assets of the Vatukoula Gold
Mine in Fiji. Westech is indirectly controlled by Red Lion Management, a global
merchant bank based in Vancouver. On 14 December 2007 River Diamonds announced
that it had signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement (the 'Agreement')
to acquire the remaining 80% of Viso Gero International Inc. ('VGI') not already
held by it from Viso Gero Global Inc and which contemplates that VGI will
acquire the remaining 6% of Westech on or before the completion of the Agreement
(collectively the 'Acquisitions '). Therefore, subject to completion of the
Acquisitions, River Diamonds will own 100% of VGI and will indirectly, through
Westech and its indirect subsidiaries, hold a 100% interest in the Vatukoula
Gold Mine in Fiji and associated assets, rights and entitlements. The Company
also announced on 14 December 2007 that it had conditionally placed shares to
raise gross proceeds of �4,699,000. The transaction constitutes a reverse
takeover under the AIM Rules for Companies and thereby required shareholder
approval which was granted at the general meeting held on 31 March 2008 with
dealings in the enlarged group scheduled to commence on 1 April 2008.



Glossary of Technical Terms


Crushing: A milling process to reduce size into relatively coarse particles by
stamps, crushers, or rolls.

Decline: An inclined tunnel-like excavation into the ground to allow vehicle and
equipment access for the mining of ore bodies.

Flotation: A milling process in which valuable mineral particles are induced to
become attached to bubbles and float as others sink.

Ore: The naturally occurring material from which a mineral or minerals of
economic value can be extracted profitably or to satisfy social or political
objectives. The term is generally but not always used to refer to metalliferous
material, and is often modified by the names of the valuable constituent; e.g.,
iron ore.; ore mineral.

Shaft: An excavation of limited area compared with its depth; made for finding
or mining ore or coal, raising water, ore, rock, or coal, hoisting and lowering
workers and material, or ventilating underground workings. The term is often
specific applied to a vertical shaft, as distinguished from an incline or
inclined shaft. A shaft is provided with a hoisting engine at the top for
handling workers, rock, and supplies; or it may be used only in connection with
pumping or ventilating operations.



Enquiries

River Diamonds plc
Colin Orr Ewing                                      020 7352 4117
Kiran Morzaria                                       020 7016 5100

W.H. Ireland Limited
James Joyce                                         020 7220 1666
David Porter

Hichens, Harrison & Co plc                          020 7382 7785
Dave Paxton

Parkgreen Communications                            020 7851 7480
Beth Harris/Laura Llewelyn




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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