DIAMOND ACQUISITION – Stornoway wins control of Ashton and Contact Diamond

VANCOUVER - Earlier this week STORNOWAY DIAMOND CORP. announced that it had acquired controlling interests in both ASHTON MINING OF CANADA (68.2%) and CONTACT DIAMOND CORP. (67.5%).

With control of both Ashton and Contact Diamond in hand, Stornoway has extended its offer for the rest of the shares of both companies to 8 pm Toronto time on Oct. 2, 2006. Shareholders of Contact Diamond should call Georgeson Shareholder Communications toll-free in North America at 866-399-8737. Ashton shareholders should contact the same company at 866-390-5139.

Stornoway acquired the largest block of Ashton shares (51.7%) from RIO TINTO. The sale is worth approximately $29.6 million and 25.6 million Stornoway shares to Rio Tinto and its subsidiaries ASHTON CANADA PTY and QIT FER ET TITANE. Rio Tinto will wind up holding 17.7% of Stornoway's issued and outstanding common shares.

Meanwhile, Stornoway continues to test the kimberlite outcrops at its Churchill project in Nunavut. The company recently recovered 24 macrodiamonds from mini-bulk samples of the Notch and Jigsaw pipes. The largest diamond measured 1.55 mm x 1.25 mm x 1.05 mm.