Stornoway Reports Discovery of Hammer Kimberlite

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Jul 30 (MARKET WIRE) --
Stornoway Diamond Corporation (TSX: SWY) is pleased to report the
discovery of a new kimberlite in the Coronation Gulf/North Slave Diamond
District of Nunavut. The Hammer kimberlite was discovered by prospecting
on a mineral claim acquired by Stornoway in October 2008 at the head of a
previously unexplained kimberlitic indicator mineral anomaly with diamond
inclusion chemistry. The Hammer Property is located approximately 500km
north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (see map at
www.stornowaydiamonds.com/Coronation_P1_v2_2.jpg), and is a joint venture
between Stornoway (75% and operator) and North Arrow Minerals Inc. (TSX
VENTURE: NAR) (25% participating).

The Hammer kimberlite appears associated with a prominent topographic
feature that is 225m long, between 15 and 100m wide, and has a surface
expression of approximately 1 hectare, although the true nature and size
of the body is not known at this time. Weathered kimberlite breccia in
bedrock was identified within hand dug pits, in addition to numerous
scattered kimberlite occurrences of surface float and frost heaved
kimberlite fragments. Previous analyses of till samples collected
down-ice of the Hammer kimberlite have returned the full suite of
traditional kimberlite indictor minerals, including both pyrope and
eclogite garnets, and the mineral chemistry of these indicators is
indicative of a potentially diamond bearing kimberlitic intrusive.

President and CEO Matt Manson stated, "The discovery of the Hammer
kimberlite is a direct result of our team's mandate to pursue
opportunistic and cost-efficient grass roots exploration, as outlined in
Stornoway's 2009 Exploration Outlook (see press release of January 07,
2009, available at:
http://www.stornowaydiamonds.com/investor_relations/news_releases/2009/index.php
&content_id=461).
Hammer was discovered through careful assessment of Stornoway's extensive
exploration database, vigilant claim acquisition, and patience. We
believe additional kimberlites remain to be discovered at Hammer and its
adjacent properties and will be pursuing these opportunities in due
course."

Next Steps

Representative samples of surface float and in-situ kimberlite were
collected at site and are currently in transit south, although permafrost
conditions and equipment constraints prevented the collection of a large
sample of fresh kimberlite for representative microdiamond analysis at
this time. Stornoway and North Arrow are currently reviewing potential
future work required to properly assess the Hammer discovery, which may
include additional prospecting, kimberlite sampling for micro diamond
recovery, ground geophysical surveys or drilling.

About the Coronation Gulf/North Slave Diamond District

Some 17 kimberlites were previously known to exist in the general
Coronation Gulf/North Slave Diamond District, with Stornoway holding
variable interests in ten of them. The diamond contents of individual
bodies range from barren to highly diamondiferous. The barren bodies tend
to be ilmenite dominated (e.g. Kikerk 1, Kikerk 2, Thrift) while those
with elevated diamond counts have a more interesting indicator mineral
population including pyrope garnet (e.g. Artemisia, Knife, Potentilla).
Within the diamondiferous kimberlites, grades (established from a variety
of sampling programs by several companies) range from less than 10 carats
per hundred tonnes ("cpht"; e.g. Caltha, Perseus) to 10-30cpht (e.g.
Artemisia, Knife), with portions of the Anuri pipe reportedly reaching
78cpht. No development work on any kimberlite has taken place to date,
although large tonnage sampling programs have been undertaken by De Beers
and Rio Tinto (through Kennecott Canada Inc.) at the Knife and Anuri
kimberlites respectively.

Acknowledgements

This discovery was made possible in part by the Government of Canada's
GEM (GeoMapping for Energy and Minerals) program, specifically the
Diamonds Project as delivered federally by the Geological Survey of
Canada.

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.
Stornoway's diamond exploration programs are conducted under the
direction of Robin Hopkins, P.Geol. (NT/NU), Vice President, Exploration,
a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Mr Hopkins has read this press
release and approves of its contents.

On behalf of the Board

STORNOWAY DIAMOND CORPORATION

Matt Manson, President and Chief Executive Officer

This news release may contain forward looking statements, being
statements which are not historical facts, including, without limitation,
statements regarding potential mineralization, exploration results,
resource or reserve estimates, anticipated production or results, sales,
revenues, costs, "best-efforts" financings or discussions of future plans
and objectives. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove
accurate. Such statements are necessarily based upon a number of
estimates and assumptions that are subject to numerous risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results and future events to differ
materially from those anticipated or projected. Any statements made
regarding a NI 43-101 Preliminary Assessment of a project includes
inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative
geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that
would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no
certainty that the Preliminary Assessment will be realized. References to
NI 43-101 Resource Calculations are Mineral Resources and are not Mineral
Reserves and therefore do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from the Company's expectations are in Company documents filed from time
to time with the Toronto Stock Exchange and provincial securities
regulators, most of which are available at www.sedar.com. The Company
disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update such
statements.

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
www.stornowaydiamonds.com

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