Petra Diamonds (AIM: PDL) has sold the 507 carat Cullinan Heritage diamond for US$35.3m, which is the highest recorded sale price for a rough diamond. Hong Kong based jeweller Chow Tai Fook bought the diamond through a tender process in South Africa.
The proceeds from the sale add to Petra's treasury and give it further flexibility in funding the development of the underground operations at Cullinan in South Africa and the expansion project at the Williamson mine. The company said that both developments represent important steps in taking Petra's annual production from one million carats to over three million carats by 2019.
Petra said the record price reflects the incredible rarity of the diamond, which combines both a remarkable size, and exceptional colour and clarity. At 507.5 carats Cullinan Heritage is the nineteenth largest gem diamond ever discovered.
"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”, Petra CEO Johan Dippenaar commented. “it has the potential to produce one of the world's most important polished gems”
The Cullinan Heritage was recovered in September 2009 from the Cullinan mine, which has produced the majority of the world's most famous and important diamonds, Petra said. According to Petra, the Cullinan kimberlite pipe is the second largest indicated diamond resource in the world by in-situ value, totalling 204m carats. The company led a consortium to acquire the Cullinan mine from De Beers in July 2008, for R1bn.
The mine is named after the 'Cullinan' diamond, which was discovered at the site in 1905, at 3,106 carats Cullinan remains the world's largest ever gem diamond. 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.
The mine has now produced four of the top 20 largest rough-gem diamonds, the other three are the ‘Cullinan’ at 3,106 carats, the ‘Golden Jubilee’ at 755 carats, the ‘Centenary’ with 599 carats rough. Cullinan is also the source of the world’s two largest polished diamonds including the ‘Golden Jubilee’ and the Great Star of Africa with 530 carats.
Chow Tai Fook has not advised Petra of their plans for the diamond.
http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/13803/petra-diamonds-receives-world-record-us353m-for-507-carat-cullinan-diamond-13803.html
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