{"id":1139802,"date":"2019-09-23T07:54:16","date_gmt":"2019-09-23T12:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=1002607"},"modified":"2019-09-23T07:54:16","modified_gmt":"2019-09-23T12:54:16","slug":"petra-finds-20-08-carat-blue-diamond-at-flagship-cullinan-mine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1139802","title":{"rendered":"Petra finds 20.08-carat blue diamond at flagship Cullinan mine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>South Africa\u2019s Petra Diamonds (LON:PDL) has&nbsp;found yet&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ir.q4europe.com\/solutions\/petradiamonds\/3144\/newsArticle.aspx?storyid=14453932\" >another big rock&nbsp;at its iconic Cullinan mine<\/a>, one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/petra-diamond-roll-another-major-find-cullinan\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">many coloured diamonds<\/a> it has unearthed at the operation this year.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The \u201cexceptional\u201d 20.08 carat blue gem quality diamond, Type IIb, demonstrates that Cullinan remains a significant source of rare blue diamonds, and confirms the ability of the mine&#8217;s plant to recover the full spectrum of precious stones, the company said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Recovery demonstrates Cullinan remains a significant source of rare blue diamonds, said the company.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>In April this year, the company a 424.89 carat exceptional D colour Type IIa diamond at the same mine. The stone was sold the next month for just under $15 million.<\/p>\n<p>Petra\u2019s shares <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/petra-diamonds-shares-hit-all-time-low-as-loss-widens\/\" >hit an all-time low last week<\/a> after it reported a net loss of $258.1 million&nbsp;for the year ending in June, amid challenging market conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Richard Duffy, who has been at<br \/>\nPetra\u2019s helm since April, said the diamond market was in its worst state since<br \/>\nthe financial crisis in 2008, but expects it to stabilize in the next 12 to 18<br \/>\nmonths.<\/p>\n<p>Petra has been trying to turn<br \/>\naround its fortunes&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/petra-diamonds-ceo-leave-following-shares-value-dip-debt-increase\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">after piling up debt<\/a>&nbsp;to expand its flagship Cullinan<br \/>\nmine in South Africa, where the world\u2019s largest-ever diamond was found in 1905.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Struggling market<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Diamond miners are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/web\/hunt-canadas-vast-diamond-riches-reaching-end\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">struggling across the board<\/a>, especially those producing cheaper and smaller stones, where there is an over-supply.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The US-China trade row and protests<br \/>\nin Hong Kong dented demand in Asian markets.<\/p>\n<p>Increasing demand for synthetic<br \/>\ndiamonds has also weighed on prices. Diamond prices<\/p>\n<p>Man-made diamonds require less<br \/>\ninvestment than mining natural stones and can offer more attractive margins.<\/p>\n<p>Synthetic producers spend around $300-500 per carat produced, according to a&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/three-main-trends-shape-diamond-industry-2019\/\" >2018 report by Bain &amp; Company<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Diamond miners are&nbsp;struggling across the board, especially those producing cheaper and smaller stones, where there is an over-supply.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Lab-grown diamonds produced by De<br \/>\nBeers, the world\u2019s top diamond miner by value, sell for $800 per carat.<\/p>\n<p>Petra, by contrast, has to shift<br \/>\n20,000 tonnes of earth at Cullinan to yield just one cup of diamonds. Average<br \/>\ncost in the 2019 financial year was $110 per carat, 12% less than in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Buyers, those that polish and cut<br \/>\ndiamonds for retailers, have been hit this year by lower prices and tighter<br \/>\ncredit, prompting them to delay purchases. Tiffany\u2019s reported in August<br \/>\na&nbsp;3% decline in like-for-like sales, while shares in Signet, the world\u2019s<br \/>\nlargest retailer of diamond jewellery, have lost more than 60% of their value<br \/>\nthis year.<\/p>\n<p>De Beers has responded by axing<br \/>\nproduction \u2014 with a target of 31 million carats this year compared with 35.3<br \/>\nmillion in 2018. It has also announced it would spend more on marketing.<\/p>\n<p>In March,<br \/>\nAfrica-focused&nbsp;Firestone Diamonds (LON:FDI) put plans to extend the life<br \/>\nof its 75%-owned Liqhobong mine in Lesotho&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/mining.com\/firestone-diamonds-halts-liqhobong-mine-expansion-plans-limits-h1-losses\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">on the back burner<\/a>, saying that current market conditions<br \/>\ndidn\u2019t support such project.<\/p>\n<p>Petra will report production and sales results for the September quarter on October 21st.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recovery demonstrates the quality of Petra&#8217;s asset base, as the Cullinan diamond mine remains a significant source of rare blue diamonds, said the company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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