Newfield Resources Limited (Newfield) announces an operational update in relation to its Tongo Diamond Mine Development in Sierra Leone (Tongo Mine Development or Tongo) and the current worldwide COVID-19 virus pandemic. Underground development drill and blast operations continue, and to date the decline development has advanced some 76m. The ongoing development of the 6m x 4m decline tunnel is critical to the project progress, as each blast brings closer to the first ore stopes. Whilst supply chain delivery of spares and consumable items has been severely impacted by interim limitations imposed by local and international institutions, the Company presaged these restrictions and made special arrangements before the limitations were implemented, such that it is possible to continue underground development operations, at least for the short term. The development work at Tongo therefore continues within the constraints of the new COVID-19 safe working protocols. Progress has been achieved with 133 LTI free days as at the 31st March 2020. Mine infrastructure construction continued with good progress made on the 100 tph plant earthworks foundations and civils. Furthermore, construction continued on mine administrative offices, the site clinic and establishment of a potable water supply at the main camp and mine site. At the mine site, the change house, lamp room and offices approach completion. Supply chain delivery of construction and mining materials is now experiencing tightening and is likely to delay completion of some of these structures. The likely impact of such delays on the overall project programme is being actively monitored as events unfold in Sierra Leone with the COVID-19 virus pandemic. METC Engineering of Johannesburg reports that construction of the 100tph plant components has been suspended due to a strict lockdown in South Africa. This will undoubtedly affect delivery of the processing plant, due to commence in Second Quarter of 2020, which will have a knock-on effect on the availability of the 100 tph plant once ore is available for processing. However, the Company has a back-up plan in place, which involves utilising the existing bulk sample plant to process the first ore that arrives from the underground stopes. This plant has sufficient capacity to process the first ore deliveries as stopes are gradually added to the production capacity. This back-up plan will mitigate the effects of the likely delay in the delivery of the 100tph plant noted above and will support the overall project objective of achieving first diamond production by year's end.