Exploration Update

Sunrise Diamonds PLC
18 April 2007



                            www.sunrisediamonds.com

18 April 2007


                 SUNRISE DIAMONDS NARROWS SEARCH FOR POTENTIAL
                DIAMOND SOURCE AT SEVERAL OF ITS FINLAND TARGETS


   • Sampling Planned For Three More Kimberlites For Microdiamond Content And
     Grade


   • Potential Source Area Narrowed At Kuopio Target 295


   • Till Sampling Results From 14 Priority Targets Expected At End Of May
___________________________________________________________________________


Sunrise Diamonds plc ('Sunrise Diamonds' or 'the Company') is pleased to provide
the following update on its diamond exploration activities in Finland.


KAAVI-KUOPIO KIMBERLITES (NORDIC DIAMONDS JOINT VENTURE CLAIMS)


The Company's Canadian consultants have recommended that further work be
undertaken on three of the kimberlite pipes in the Kaavi-Kuopio district which
fall under a joint venture agreement with Nordic Diamonds Ltd. The Company is to
proceed with the collection of 200kg samples from each of these kimberlites for
microdiamond testing and grade evaluation.


In August 2006, the Company announced an agreement giving it the right to earn a
75% interest in certain claims in the Kaavi-Kuopio district of south central
Finland covering 16 kimberlite pipes discovered in the 1990's and now held by
Nordic Diamonds Ltd. ('Nordic').


Sunrise Diamonds previously identified many of these kimberlites as warranting
further evaluation and in late 2006 contracted Minerals Services Canada Inc.
('Minerals Services') a leading diamond exploration, consulting and laboratory
group to evaluate the six of these priority kimberlites where archived drill
core was still available (Kimberlites 2, 3, 4, 10, 14 & 22). Core samples were
processed by Mineral Services to evaluate indicator mineral abundance and
mineral chemistry using its proprietary *Mantle MapperTM process.


As a result Minerals Services has now recommended that additional samples be
taken from Kimberlites 10, 14 and 22 for microdiamond extraction and diamond
grade evaluation (no further work was recommended for Kimberlites 2, 3 or 4).


Previous exploration suggests Kimberlite Pipe 10 is currently the largest of
these bodies with a surface area of approximately 2 hectares. Pipe 14 has the
form of a thick dyke or elongated pipe with a width of over 30m and a known
strike length of 100m. Significantly, it is open along strike in both
directions. Kimberlite 22 appears to be relatively small but has not been closed
off by previous drilling.


Other priority kimberlites not examined by Minerals Services (due to shortage of
archived sample material) include Kimberlite 17. This pipe has a surface area of
approximately 2 hectares and indicator mineral chemistry suggesting good diamond
prospectivity but records indicate only minimal sampling suggesting that the
diamond content has not been systematically evaluated.


As soon as a drill rig becomes available the Company will start a drilling
programme on Kimberlites 10, 14 and 17 to collect 200kg samples from each pipe
for microdiamond testing and diamond grade evaluation, as well as to further
define the extent of Pipe 14. Pipe 22 is located underneath a lake and is,
therefore, a winter drilling target.


Other pipes of further interest covered by the Nordic JV claims include
Kimberlites 12 (1.6 hectares) and 21 (1.3 hectares). The latter returned high
micro-diamond counts of up to 1.84 micro-diamonds/kg of kimberlite in Nordic
sampling which supported the results of a 16.6 tonne mini-bulk sample previously
taken by Ashton Mining in 1995. This returned a reported grade of 26.7 carats
per hundred tonnes including a stone of 1.13 carats. Individually Pipes 12 and
21 are currently considered too small for development but could provide feed for
a central processing plant in the Kaavi-Kuopio area if this can be justified by
future developments.


Target 295

The Company's previous till (surface sediment) sampling at Target 295 returned
high counts of diamond-prospective kimberlite indicator minerals and one
microdiamond.


A weak magnetic anomaly in one possible source area was targeted with a single
drill hole in February this year but this failed to discover a diamond source.
Subsequently the Company completed a systematic deep-till drill-sampling
programme that defined a discrete source area. A gravity survey covering this
area is planned for mid-May with any resulting anomalies scheduled for drill
testing by the end of May.


OTHER TARGETS


Target 298 (Kaavi-Kuopio area)

At Target 298, where kimberlite boulders with high microdiamond contents (22
stones and five fragments in a 20.8kg sample) have been found in surficial
sediments, recent prospecting and sampling has narrowed the potential source
area and ruled out existing pipes as the source of the diamondiferous kimberlite
boulders. Follow-up work is in progress to define drill targets.


Target 32 (Kuusamo area)

Target 32 is a magnetic anomaly (kimberlite target) identified by the Company in
2005 but which was previously considered to have been tested by an earlier
explorer with negative results. However, the Company's previous testing of very
similar magnetic anomalies in the Kuusamo area has found kimberlite in all cases
and experience has shown that these anomalies are difficult to model and
intersect in drilling - in which case the earlier explorer may have missed the
kimberlite source (as was the case with De Beers before the Company discovered
the Lampi kimberlite).


Further drill testing of this anomaly is scheduled for early June.


Kalletomanpuro Group II kimberlite

This, the Company's original kimberlite discovery in Finland in 2005, is a
narrow (1-2 metre wide) dyke with indicator mineral chemistry that is the most
diamond prospective of all of the Company's Kuusamo discoveries to-date. A small
sample (22kg) taken in 2005 did not contain any microdiamonds but is considered
too small to be representative. Further exploration is warranted to investigate
the full extent of the dyke and to obtain representative samples for
microdiamond analysis. Geophysics and drilling are planned for the early summer.


Kuusamo Regional Targets

Previous news releases have referred to till sampling of 14 priority targets in
the Kuusamo area carried out in November 2006. Processing and picking of these
samples for kimberlite indicator minerals was delayed due to a sample backlog at
the Geological Survey of Finland's processing facilities in Kuhmo. The Directors
of the Company are pleased to report that this backlog is now cleared and
results are expected by the end of May.


Further Info: 

Patrick Cheetham, Sunrise Diamonds plc. 

Tel: [phone].
Mob: [phone]

John Greenhalgh/Ron Marshman, City of London PR Ltd. 

Tel: +44 ( 0)20-7628-5518



The information in this release has been compiled and reviewed by Mr. Patrick
Cheetham. Mr Cheetham is a Member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals &
Mining and also a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy.


* Mantle MapperTM is a powerful tool developed by leading kimberlite scientists
for quantitative analysis of the abundance and composition of key indicator
minerals in kimberlite. It allows a reliable evaluation of the diamond potential
of the host body.

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