507 Carat Diamond Sells For U

RNS Number : 7356H

Petra Diamonds Ld

26 February 2010

 



For immediate release

26 February 2010

AIM: PDL

Petra Diamonds Limited

("Petra" or "the Company")

The 507 Carat Cullinan Heritage Diamond Sells For US$35.3 million

Petra Diamonds Limited is pleased to announce that the 507 carat Cullinan Heritage has today been sold for US$35.3 million, the highest sale price on record ever achieved for a rough diamond.

The diamond was sold on tender in South Africa and was purchased by Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Company Limited, Hong Kong. The purchaser has not at this stage advised Petra of their plans for the diamond.

The price achieved for The Cullinan Heritage reflects the incredible rarity of the diamond, which combines its remarkable size with exceptional colour and clarity, and at 507.5 carats it is the nineteenth largest gem diamond ever discovered. The Cullinan Heritage was recovered in September 2009 from Petra's Cullinan mine in South Africa which has produced the majority of the world's most famous and important diamonds.

The proceeds from the sale of The Cullinan Heritage will add to Petra's treasury and give the Company further flexibility in funding the development of the underground operations at Cullinan and the expansion project at the Williamson mine, both of which are important steps in taking Petra's annual production from the current one million carats to over three million carats by 2019.

Johan Dippenaar, Petra's CEO, commented, "It is fitting that The Cullinan Heritage should achieve a sale price of US$35.3 million, the highest sale price on record ever achieved for a rough diamond, as it has the potential to produce one of the world's most important polished gems. The sale proceeds further bolster Petra's treasury and will be invested in the growth of our core assets."

Photos of the diamond can be viewed at the Company's website: www.petradiamonds.com or at the following dedicated media website: http://media.buchanan.uk.com/petra_diamonds.htm 

For further information, please contact:

Cathy Roberts	Telephone: [phone]
Petra Diamonds, London	[e-mail]

Bobby Morse / Katharine Sutton	Telephone: [phone]
Buchanan Communications	[e-mail] [e-mail]

Nicola Taylor	Telephone: [phone]
Russell & Associates	[e-mail]

Mike Jones / Ryan Gaffney	Telephone: [phone]
Canaccord Adams Limited (NOMAD and Joint Broker)	[e-mail] [e-mail]

Joshua Critchley / Martin Eales	Telephone: [phone]
RBC Capital Markets (Joint Broker)	[e-mail] [e-mail]

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About Petra Diamonds

Petra Diamonds is a leading supplier of rough diamonds, with a gross resource base of 262 million carats. The Company offers a unique growth profile within the diamond sector, increasing its annual production fivefold in the year to June 2009 to over one million carats, and with firm plans in place to grow production to over three million carats.

In South Africa, Petra has interests in five producing mines - Cullinan, Koffiefontein, Helam, Sedibeng and Star - and has also agreed to acquire the Kimberley Underground mines from De Beers (this acquisition is expected to complete soon). In Tanzania, Petra has an interest in the Williamson mine.

Petra conducts all its operations according to the highest ethical standards, and will only work in countries which are members of the Kimberley Process.  The Company is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: PDL).

www.petradiamonds.com 

About the Cullinan mine

Many of the world's most magnificent gems have been recovered at the Cullinan mine, including the 'Cullinan', the world's largest ever gem diamond at 3,106 carats.  Cullinan has produced over 300 stones weighing more than 100 carats, and around a quarter of all of the world's diamonds weighing more than 400 carats.

Cullinan has now produced four of the top 20 largest high quality gem diamonds: The Cullinan (3,106 carats rough), The Golden Jubilee (755 carats rough), The Centenary (599 carats rough) and The Cullinan Heritage (507 carats rough). Other notable diamonds from Cullinan include The Premier Rose (353 carats rough), The Niarchos (426 carats rough) and the famous Taylor-Burton diamond (69 carats polished).  Cullinan is the source of not only the world's largest rough diamond but also the two largest polished diamonds in the world - the Golden Jubilee (545 carats) and the Great Star of Africa (530 carats).

Cullinan is also the world's only significant source of blue diamonds, and it produced the collection of 11 rare blue diamonds which were displayed in 2000 at London's Millennium Dome alongside the Millennium Star.  This exquisite collection included the fancy vivid blue Heart of Eternity (27 carats polished).  More recently, in 2008 Petra recovered a 26 carat blue diamond at Cullinan which was cut to form an internally flawless, fancy vivid blue diamond of 7.03 carats which sold for US$9.4 million (or US$1.35 million per carat) in May 2009 and was named The Star of Josephine by its new owner.

 

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