Petra Diamonds
Limited
("Petra" or the "Company" or the
“Group”)
Sales process for
the exceptional 39.34ct Type IIb blue diamond recovered from the
Cullinan Diamond Mine
Petra Diamonds Limited announces the final sales process for the
39.34 carat exceptional Type IIb blue diamond recovered at the
famed Cullinan Diamond Mine in South Africa.
Viewings of the diamond will take place as follows:
- Antwerp: 15-18 June 2021
- Dubai: 22-23 June 2021
- Hong Kong: 29-30 June 2021
- New York: 7-9 July 2021
The tender on Petra’s online bidding platform is planned to
close on or around Monday 12th July 2021 at the following times:
- Johannesburg: 16:00
- Antwerp: 16:00
- Dubai: 18:00
- Hong Kong: 22:00
- New York: 10:00
Please contact Greg Stephenson,
Group Head of Sales and Marketing to confirm bookings: Tel: +27 836
379 849 or email diamondsales@petradiamonds.com
Photos of the diamond can be viewed at:
www.petradiamonds.com/media/image-library/diamonds.
~ Ends ~
For further information, please
contact:
Petra Diamonds,
London
Telephone: +44 20 7494 8203
Marianna
Bowes
investorrelations@petradiamonds.com
Des
Kilalea
Julia Stone
About Petra Diamonds Limited
Petra Diamonds is a leading independent diamond mining group and
a consistent supplier of gem quality rough diamonds to the
international market. The Company has a diversified portfolio
incorporating interests in three underground producing mines in
South Africa (Finsch, Cullinan and
Koffiefontein) and one open pit mine in Tanzania (Williamson).
Petra's strategy is to focus on value rather than volume
production by optimising recoveries from its high-quality asset
base in order to maximise their efficiency and profitability. The
Group has a significant resource base of ca. 243 million carats,
which supports the potential for long-life operations.
Petra strives to operate according to the highest ethical
standards and will only operate in countries which are members of
the Kimberley Process. The Company aims to generate tangible value
for each of its stakeholders, thereby contributing to the
socio-economic development of its host countries and supporting
long-term sustainable operations to the benefit of its employees,
partners and communities.
Petra is quoted with a premium listing on the Main Market of the
London Stock Exchange under the ticker 'PDL'. The Company’s
US$337 million loan notes due in 2026
will be listed on the Global Exchange market of the Irish Stock
Exchange. For more information, visit www.petradiamonds.com.
Notes to Editors
About the Cullinan Mine
Located at the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountain range, 37
kilometres north-east of Pretoria
in South Africa, the Cullinan
Diamond Mine is one of the world's most celebrated diamond
mines.
It earned its place in history with the discovery of the
Cullinan diamond in 1905, the largest rough gem diamond ever found
at 3,106 carats. This iconic stone was cut into the two most
important diamonds which form part of the Crown Jewels in the Tower
of London – the First Star of
Africa, which is mounted at the
top of the Sovereign’s Sceptre and which at 530 carats is the
largest flawless cut diamond in the world, and the Second Star of
Africa, a 317 carat polished
diamond which forms the centrepiece of the Imperial State
Crown.
The Cullinan Diamond Mine is renowned as a source of large,
high-quality gem diamonds, including Type II stones, as well as
being the world’s most important source of very rare blue
diamonds.
Many of the most famous diamonds in the world herald from the
Cullinan Diamond Mine and it continues to produce world-class
diamonds under Petra’s stewardship. Notable diamonds historically
produced from the Cullinan Mine include:
- the Premier Rose (353 carats rough);
- the Niarchos (426 carats rough);
- the De Beers Centenary (599 carats rough);
- the Golden Jubilee (755 carats rough); and
- the Taylor-Burton diamond (69 carats polished).
More recently, remarkable diamonds recovered by Petra at the
Cullinan Diamond Mine include:
- the Cullinan Heritage (507 carats rough white diamond), sold
for US$35.3 million in 2010;
- the Blue Moon of Josephine (29 carats rough blue diamond), sold
for US$25.6 million in 2014;
- the Cullinan Dream (122 carats rough blue diamond), sold for
US$25.3 million in 2016;
- the Legacy of the Cullinan Diamond Mine (424 carats rough white
diamond), sold for just under US$15
million in May 2019;
- the Letlapa Tala Collection (a collection of five blue diamonds
of high quality and clarity) sold for US$40.36 million in November 2020;
and
- an exceptional 299 carat Type IIa white gem quality diamond
sold for US$12.18 million in
March 2021.
The unique geology of the Cullinan kimberlite pipe means that
the majority of its diamonds are aged between 3.2 and 1.1 billion
years old – spanning a time in the Earth’s history from before the
formation of the first major continents to the beginnings of
multicellular life. However, Type IIb blue diamonds are so rare
that their age has not been established. Recent studies on minerals
trapped inside these diamonds imply that they are amongst the
deepest-formed diamonds ever found, created at depths in excess of
500km below the Earth’s surface. The boron that gives their blue
colour has been linked to seawater suggesting that these diamonds
are a record of rocks from the ocean floor that have been
transported to the lower mantle by plate tectonics, where these
diamonds formed under conditions of extreme pressure and
temperature.
More information on the Cullinan Diamond Mine’s unique heritage
can be found at
https://www.petradiamonds.com/about-us/our-heritage/.
The Cullinan Mine is a significant employer in South Africa, with a workforce encompassing
over 1,300 employees and over 200 contractors. It plays an active
role in its local communities, with a particular focus on improving
education standards, supporting small to medium sized enterprises
and addressing other needs deemed to be most critical to its
stakeholders.
About blue diamonds
Blue diamonds are one of nature’s most special treasures. They
are so rare that there are no official statistics on their
recovery, however the Cullinan Mine in South Africa is known as the world’s most
important source.
True miracles of nature, the captivating blue colour is produced
by the presence of the trace element boron within the stone’s
carbon structure during its formation deep within the Earth’s
mantle.
Virtually every blue diamond described by the GIA Gem Trade
Laboratory as “blue” is classified as a Type IIb diamond. Type II
diamonds contain no detectable nitrogen in their chemical structure
and tend to display exceptional transparency. Type IIb diamonds are
unique in a number of their gemmological properties, such as their
ability to conduct electricity and phosphoresce to short-wave UV.
No known laboratory-grown or treated blue diamond displays the
combination of electrical conductivity and phosphorescence seen in
naturally occurring blues.
High quality blue diamonds command the very highest values, with
the 12 carat polished Blue Moon of Josephine (cut from a 29 carat
rough blue diamond from the Cullinan Mine) selling for US$48.5 million in 2015, representing a
remarkable +US$4 million per carat (US$20
million per gram), which remains the world record price per
carat ever paid for a diamond.