Irish-based mining company Karelian Diamonds has announced the discovery of a potential new source in the Kuhmo region of Finland.

The source occurs in a new Kimberlite body discovered during follow-up pitting in an area where infill samples containing high concentrations of kimberlitic indicator minerals have been found. Subsequent scanning electron microscopy analysis of samples taken from these minerals suggest that they were derived from the diamond stability field of the Earth’s mantle. The results confirmed the presence of Group I eclogite garnets, which can be associated with high diamond grades.

The material recovered from the pit was confirmed as being kimberlitic by Dr Hugh O’Brien of the Geological Survey of Finland.

The kimberlite body, which is the first to be discovered in Finland for approximately 10 years, is located to the southeast of Seitapera where Karelian has outlined the largest diamondiferous kimberlite discovered to date in Finland.

The new kimberlite body will now be assessed for extent and tested for diamond content, the company said.

"This discovery of a potential new diamond source is very exciting news for the Company. It is a major step forward in the company's exploration programme which has the objective of discovering a world class diamond deposit in the Karelian Craton in Finland, comparable to the world class deposits found on the Russian portion of the Karelian Craton," said Prof Richard Conroy, the group's chairman.