Al Genis to Lead R&D - the Mosaic Differentiator for Industrial and Commercial Use

GREENVILLE, SC, April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Scio Diamond Technology Corporation (OTC-BB: SCIO.OB) is pleased to announce that Alfred Genis will lead the R&D efforts of Scio Diamond as Vice President / Director of R&D, reporting to Michael McMahon, Chief Operating Officer.  Al brings to the team more than 25 years of experience in high tech industries concentrating over the last decade on the development and production of CVD single crystal diamond for gemstones and commercial applications.  Al is the co-holder of 5 patents applicable to cultured diamond including one covering the critical Scio Diamond Mosaic.

The Scio Diamond Mosaic methodology promises to increase the Company's mass production capability and expand the flexibility of product choice that we can offer our customers.  A portion of our first planned production in the new lab in South Carolina will be dedicated to building a mosaic diamond seed inventory. With these seeds we intend to apply proven technology to produce diamond plates in sizes 25mm x 25mm x 2mm and 12mm x 15mm x 4mm.  We are confident that these plates will allow both greater customization for our customers and higher yields of usable material.  We expect to gain the flexibility to customize diamond to the specifications needed in the Aerospace, Semiconductor, Optical, Medical and General Industrial markets in addition to the Gemstone market.

Mr. Genis is currently leading the startup and commissioning efforts of the 10 reactors and associated equipment in Scio's new production facility.  Upon the successful completion of the startup, Al and his team will return to Scio's R&D facility in Hudson, MA to concentrate on the development of processes to further increase Mosaic sizes to optimize flexibility and yield.

Joseph D. Lancia, Scio's CEO commented, "We are pleased that Al has joined our team.  Al's expertise in the growth and fabrication of single crystal diamond will be instrumental in further developing Scio's plan to become a reliable source of high quality single crystal diamond to our Commercial Technology and Gemstone customers."

About SCIO Diamond

Scio Diamond will employ a patent-protected chemical vapor deposition process to produce high-quality, single-crystal diamond in a controlled laboratory setting.  Such diamond is referred to as "lab-grown" or cultivated diamond and displays the identical chemical, physical and optical properties as diamond found in the earth.  The company's highly controlled manufacturing process will enable the mass production of a high-quality and high-purity single-crystal diamond for the Gemstone and Commercial Technology markets.

Scio Diamond intends to produce colorless, near colorless and fancy colored diamond to support its Gemstone business in sizes up to 2.0 carats.  Using its ability to produce diamond in mass quantities, Scio will be able to provide technology clients with diamond material fabricated to their specifications enabling diamond to become the material of choice for the operating systems of the future.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Scio Diamond Technology Corporation to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and describe future plans, strategies and expectations of the Company, are generally identifiable by use of the words "may," "will," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "promise," "intend," or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and there can be no assurance that these projections included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass.   Actual results of the Company could differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, without limitation, the following factors, risks and uncertainties: (1) we are wholly dependent on our diamond production technology, and we may be unable to achieve high-yield production; (2) we have very limited operating history, and therefore, it is difficult to evaluate our business and prospects; (3) our ability to develop our core technologies is subject to uncertainties that are created by, among other things, the complexity of diamond manufacturing, high customer standards, dependence on third parties for certain complex components, the need to successfully integrate several complex components, dependence upon our employees and consultants to maintain an adequate testing and technical support infrastructure for successful adoption and rollout of cultured diamonds to customers, and our lack of experience in these areas; (4) we may not be able to establish effective distribution channels or distributors for our products; (5) we expect future losses and will need additional funding; (6) competitors may have significantly greater financial, technical, manufacturing and marketing resources and access to distribution channels than we have; (7) our business model is unproven; (8) our diamond manufacturing technology is vulnerable to disruptions due to a variety of factors, which may lead to interruptions, delays, and losses of opportunities or inability to consistently market and sell our cultured diamonds; (9) we may not be able to effectively manage the potential rapid growth of our operations; (10) we depend on our key management personnel, most of whom have either never worked together or who have worked together for only a short period of time, and the loss of the services of our executive officers or other key employees could have a material adverse effect on our business; (11) we will need to hire additional personnel, and if we fail to successfully attract, assimilate and retain a sufficient number of qualified executive, technical, managerial, sales and marketing, business development and administrative personnel, our business could suffer; (12) we may not be able to achieve a critical mass of customers and strategic relationships; (13) we may not be able to establish brand awareness that is needed to achieve and maintain a significant market share; (14) the current and future state of the global economy may curtail our operations and our potential revenues; (15) acts of war, terrorism or other unknown and unexpected events could disrupt our business; (16)we have essentially no historical revenues and had a "going concern" qualification for our last audited financial statements; (17) the potential market for our cultured diamonds is unproven and may not materialize; (18) we face significant competition, including from companies which are much larger, well known and have more resources than us; (19) rapid technological change will affect our business and our production capabilities may not successfully evolve; (20) we may have limited protection of our intellectual property and proprietary rights, and we may not be able to maintain the propriety and/or confidentiality of the technology; and (21)  substantial governmental regulations govern the testing, creation and sale of the types of diamonds we intend to produce and may restrict our ability to sell our cultured diamonds. Except as required by applicable laws, the company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.

SOURCE Scio Diamond