Petra Diamonds

Petra Diamonds

Company type	Public
Traded as	LSE: PDL
Industry	Diamond mining
Founded	1997
Headquarters	Jersey
Key people	Peter Hill, Chairman Richard Duffy, CEO
Production output	3,700,000 carats (2016)
Revenue	US$430.9 million (2016)
Operating income	US$108.4 million (2016)
Net income	US$66.8 million (2016)
Website	petradiamonds.com

Petra Diamonds Limited 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 Diamonds Limited is listed on the London Stock Exchange and its 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. 244 million carats, which supports the potential for long-life operations.

History

Petra Diamonds was founded by Adonis Pouroulis in 1997 and was first listed on the Alternative Investment Market later that year. It transferred to the Main Market in December 2011.

Operations

Petra Diamonds' operations are focused in Africa:

South Africa

Petra Diamonds operates three producing diamond mines in South Africa. These are all underground kimberlite pipe mines (Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein). The underground kimberlite mines were purchased from De Beers Consolidated Mines.

Finsch Mine

Finsch diamond mine is one of the world's most important diamond mines and South Africa's second largest diamond operation by production. On 14 September 2011, Petra purchased Finsch as a fully staffed, operating mine from De Beers for a total consideration of ZAR1.4 billion. Finsch is one of the world’s significant diamond mines and benefits from state-of-the-art mining infrastructure, including a modern processing plant which was upgraded shortly before Petra acquired it at a total cost of approximately US$100 million. Finsch has produced large, special diamonds in its history and produces a number of +50 carat stones annually. In addition, the mine is known for highly commercial goods of +5 carats and is rich in gem quality smaller diamonds.

Cullinan Mine

Main article: Premier Mine

In July 2008, Petra led a consortium which acquired the Cullinan diamond mine from De Beers Consolidated Mines for a total cash consideration of ZAR1 billion. In line with the South African Mining Charter, the Petra Diamonds Cullinan Consortium included broad based Black Economic Empowerment partners.

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.

Koffiefontein

Koffiefontein mine is one of the world’s top diamond mines by average value per carat and produces exceptional white and coloured diamonds, a regular proportion of which are of between 5 and 30 carats. In 1994, a 232.34 carat diamond was recovered at Koffiefontein, being the largest rough diamond ever produced by the mine.

Diamonds were first discovered on the Koffiefontein farm in 1870. Mining started in the form of small claims that were later amalgamated into Koffiefontein Mine Limited. De Beers acquired control of Koffiefontein Mine Limited in 1911. Mining operations were then continuous until the advent of the Great Depression in 1932 when work was suspended. Between 1950 and 1953, a prospecting shaft was sunk which was followed by limited production. The mine was reopened in 1970 and preparations for increased production were completed in August 1971. Immediately after completing the preparations, production from the open pit commenced and proceeded to a depth of 270 metres. Underground development started in 1974 through a sampling programme. Underground production briefly took place in 1982 but ceased soon thereafter due to the 1981 slump in the diamond market. These operations were resumed in March 1987. During the period 1972 to the end of 2004, approximately 69.5 million tonnes of kimberlite ore were mined and 6.1 million carats of diamonds were recovered. In February 2006, De Beers ceased mining when the old order mining right for Koffiefontein expired and in July of that year Petra Diamonds commenced operating the mine under care and maintenance conditions. The acquisition of the mine was completed in July 2007 and Petra Diamonds was subsequently able to commence diamond recoveries by starting to process the stockpile through the plant.

Tanzania

Petra agreed to acquire the Williamson Mine in Tanzania in September 2008 from De Beers and completed the acquisition in February 2009. The Williamson mine, which was discovered in 1940, has a reputation for the production of large, high value diamonds, with special stones (classified as larger than 10.8 carats (2.16 g)) produced regularly. The mine is also famed for its pink diamonds. In 1947, the mine's founder Dr. John Williamson presented Princess Elizabeth (later Elizabeth II) with a flawless 54-carat (10.8 g) pink diamond (the Williamson Pink Diamond) on her wedding day. The eventual 23.6-carat (4.72 g) cut diamond became the centre stone in the Williamson Diamond brooch and is supposedly the basis for the Pink Panther diamond in the film of the same name.

Williamson is Tanzania’s only important diamond producer. The mine is an open pit operation based upon the 146 hectare Mwadui kimberlite pipe, which is one of the world’s largest economic kimberlites. Despite having been in operation since 1940, the pit is only 105 metres at its deepest point due to the large size of the deposit. The low grade of the deposit is countered by the high value of its diamonds and lends itself well to high volume, bulk mining methods. Williamson is renowned for beautifully rounded white goods and ‘bubblegum’ pink diamonds, including the 23 carat Williamson Pink (54 carat rough stone), which is considered to be one of the finest pink diamonds ever recovered.

See also

• Diamonds as an investment

External links

• Official website