Petra Diamonds Regulatory News (PDL)

29 Sep 2009 07:00



AIM: PDL

Petra Diamonds Limited 

Spectacular 507 carat white diamond recovered at historic Cullinan mine

Petra Diamonds Limited ("Petra" or "the Company"), the international diamond mining group, announces the recovery of an important 507.55 carat white diamond at the Cullinan mine in South Africa.

This spectacular gemstone was recovered on Thursday 24 September and is currently with experts for analysis. Initial examinations indicate that it is of exceptional colour and clarity, and most likely to be a Type II diamond. Further details, including colour grading and clarity, will be released once the diamond has undergone appropriate analysis.

The diamond was recovered alongside three other special white stones of similar colour and clarity in the same production run: another very large stone of 168.00 carats and two other stones of 58.50 and 53.30 carats.

At 507 carats (just over 100 grams) the diamond, which has yet to be named, is considered to be amongst the top 20 largest high quality rough diamonds ever found worldwide and ranks alongside other illustrious diamonds recovered at the celebrated Cullinan mine. Cullinan has a special place in the history of diamonds as the source of the world's largest gem diamond ever recovered, the 'Cullinan', at 3,106 carats rough. It has also produced a further two of the world's largest diamonds, the Golden Jubilee at 755 carats rough and the Centenary at 599 carats rough, and many other famous gems including the Taylor-Burton (69 carats polished).

Johan Dippenaar, Petra's Chief Executive Officer, commented on the find, "The Cullinan mine has again given the world a spectacularly beautiful and important diamond. Initial indications are that it is of exceptional colour and clarity, which suggest extraordinary potential for its polished yield. We now eagerly await the findings of the expert analysis."

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:

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About Petra Diamonds

Petra Diamonds is a leading supplier of rough diamonds. A number of acquisitions have established Petra as one of the world's largest independent diamond groups by resources, with a total resource base of 262 million carats. The Company's objective is to continue to increase supply and develop its stature as a world-class diamond group.

Petra has acquired three of the world's most famous diamond mines - Cullinan, Koffiefontein, and Williamson - all of which are noted for the production of valuable diamonds. In addition, the Company has agreed to acquire a fourth major mine, the Kimberley Underground mines, and this acquisition is expected to complete soon. Petra is continuing the proud tradition of these celebrated diamond mines, whilst delivering true sustainable development to the benefit of the employees and the surrounding local communities. Petra conducts all its operations according to the highest ethical standards, and will only work in countries which are members of the Kimberley Process.

Petra is listed on the AIM market in London (share code '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 rough diamond at 3,106 carats. It is renowned as a source of large diamonds and frequently yields diamonds larger than 10 carats. Furthermore it 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 is also the world's only significant source of blue diamonds, and it gave the world the collection of 11 rare blue diamonds which were displayed in 2000 at London's Millennium Dome alongside the Millennium Star. In May 2009, an internally flawless, fancy vivid blue diamond of 7.03 carats from the Cullinan mine sold for US$9.4 million, the highest price ever paid for any gemstone sold at auction

Other notable diamonds from Cullinan 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 famous Taylor-Burton diamond (69 carats polished). Cullinan was 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).

The Cullinan mine is owned by the Petra Diamonds Cullinan Consortium ("PDCC"), of which Petra Diamonds has an initial 37% interest (with an option to increase ownership to 60%). The other members of PDCC are Al Rajhi Holdings W.L.L. (initial 37% initial interest) and PDCC's black empowerment partners, Thembinkosi Mining Investments (Pty) Ltd (14% interest) and the Petra Diamond Employee Trust (12% interest).