- Write by:
-
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 - 10:35:00 AM
-
690 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - South Africa’s Petra Diamonds could get up to $15 million for a 20.08-carat blue rock it found in September at its iconic Cullinan mine, when it goes for sale at a planned tender in Johannesburg next month.
“We expect this stone to fetch a good price — we are hoping for at least $13 million to $15 million — despite the rough market’s well-publicized travails,” Shore Capital’s Yuen Low said in a note Monday. “If this proves the case, it should provide a welcome, significant boost to [Petra’s fiscal-year] 2020 profits.”
Investment bank Berenberg valued the “exceptional” blue gem quality diamond at between $10 and $15 million, based on prices Petra has achieved for similar roughs from Cullinan in previous years. In 2015, the miner sold “The Blue Moon of Josephine”, a 29.6 carat blue stone, for $48.5 million, marking a world record price per carat at auction for any diamond at the time.
Previously, the miner had found a massive 122.52-carat blue diamond that sold for $27.6 million, and a 29.6-carat one of the same colour, which fetched almost $26 million.
Petra has been trying to turn around its fortunes after piling up debt to expand Cullinan, where the world’s largest-ever diamond was found in 1905. That rock was cut into two stones – the First Star of Africa and the Second Star of Africa – and are now part of Britain’s Crown Jewels, held in the Tower of London.
Perfect storm
The company is just one of the many diamond miners hit by ongoing market weakness that has hit producers of small stones hardest, due to an oversupply in that segment.
Increasing demand for synthetic diamonds has also weighed on prices. Man-made diamonds require less investment than mining natural stones and can offer more attractive margins.
Buyers, those that polish and cut diamonds for retailers, have been hit this year by lower prices and tighter credit, prompting them to delay purchases.
Tiffany’s reported in August a 3% decline in like-for-like sales, while shares in Signet, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewellery, have lost more than 60% of their value this year.
De Beers, the world’s No.1 diamond miner by value, has responded by axing production — with a target of 31 million carats this year compared with 35.3 million in 2018. It has also given buyers more room to maneuver, by allowing them to refuse half the stones in many of the diamond parcels.
Viewings of the 20.08-carat diamond will run from November 1 to 7 at Petra’s marketing offices in Johannesburg.
The tender will take place at the city’s Diamond Exchange and Export Centre, beginning on November 8 and closing at 12 p.m. on November 15.
Petra will report production and sales results for the September quarter on October 21st.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/432270
Irish explorer Karelian Diamond Resources (AIM: KDR) said on Tuesday its search for precious stones in Finland has taken ...
An unusually warm winter in Canada this year has delayed the opening of a 400-kilometer (250-mile) ice road that is ...
Russia will regularly buy diamonds from sanctions-hit producer Alrosa through a state fund, the finance ministry said on ...
Antwerp’s diamond dealers face long and costly delays following an EU ban on Russian-origin diamonds that took effect on ...
Debswana Diamond Company’s sales of rough diamonds fell 25.1% in 2023, data released by Botswana’s central bank late on ...
Russia’s sanctions-hit diamond producer Alrosa on Wednesday reported 2023 net profit of 85.18 billion roubles ($925 ...
The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) issued an open letter on Wednesday calling on the G7 nations and the ...
Christo Wiese, South Africa’s billionaire retail king, is going back to the future.
Anglo American will review its assets after a 94% plunge in annual profit and writedowns at its diamond and nickel ...
No comments have been posted yet ...