Statement re Agreement

Sunrise Diamonds PLC
14 December 2005



                                                               14 December, 2005

    SUNRISE ACQUIRES DIAMOND EXPLORATION DATABASE FOR WHOLE OF FINLAND

  • BHP Billiton Database Gives Sunrise 6 Year Leap-Forward In Exploration
    Of Karelian Craton

  • Consideration Is Five-Year Option On 5m Sunrise Shares At 5p Each

  • BHP Billiton Has Right To Match Terms Of Any Third Party JV or
    Acquisition Offer
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunrise Diamonds plc ('Sunrise' or 'the Company') is pleased to announce that it
has signed an agreement with BHP Billiton to acquire exclusive use of BHP
Billiton's diamond exploration database for the whole of Finland. It includes
results from over 18,000 geochemical samples, 25,000 line km of close-spaced
airborne geophysical data, a large archive of ground magnetic and drilling data
and numerous evaluation reports. Sunrise estimates that this extensive database
has a replacement value of over US$10milllion.

Terms for the acquisition are the issue to BHP Billiton of a 5-year option to
acquire 5 million Sunrise shares at 5p each (a premium of 150% to the share
price on 13 December 2005) and granting it the right to match any third party
terms for any future joint venture or acquisition of any Sunrise's diamond
exploration projects in Finland. Should this result in a JV with BHP Billiton
being established, BHP Billiton will also have the right to match the diamond
marketing terms and conditions offered by any third party.

BHP Billiton acquired the diamond database in 2001 as a result of its takeover
of Dia Met Minerals Ltd ('Diamet'), the Canadian exploration company whose main
asset at that time was its Ekati diamond project in the Northwest Territories,
which is now in production. The database was assembled from the results of 6
years' exploration (1994-2000) by Diamet in Finland and includes merged data
from a joint venture with Australia's Ashton Mining. Ashton had been exploring
in Finland since 1986 and had discovered 25 kimberlite pipes, mainly in the
Kaavi-Kuopio area near the south-west margin of the Karelian Craton.

Diamet's exploration activities in Finland were directed by Chuck Fipke, the
pioneering geologist whose discovery of Ekati resulted from his dogged devotion
to tracing kimberlitic indicator mineral trains for many hundreds of miles back
to their source. Diamet's exploration in Finland ended with the BHP Billiton
takeover, but target selection was ongoing until then.

Commenting today, Sunrise Chairman, Mr Patrick Cheetham, said: ' The replacement
value of this database is more than twice our current market capitalisation. It
will help focus our exploration effort in the Kuusamo area where we recently
announced the discovery of micro-diamonds. It also gives us a 6-year leap
forward in target definition and exploration in the remainder of the Finnish
sector of the Karelian Craton. Over the border in Russia the same craton already
hosts producing diamond mines.'


Further Info: Patrick Cheetham, Sunrise Diamonds plc. Tel: [phone].
Mobile: [phone]

John Greenhalgh/Ron Marshman, City of London PR Ltd. Tel: +44 ( 0)20-7628-5518

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