[miningmx.com] — PETRA Diamonds Ltd has sold a 4.8 carat blue diamond for $1.45m, the highest amount it has achieved per carat for any uncut diamond, the company said on Wednesday, as it moved up to London’s main stock market.
The blue diamond, sold in the most recent tender in early December at over $300,000 per carat, was produced from the Cullinan mine.
The Cullinan Diamond, set in the Crown Jewels worn by British monarchs, was discovered there in 1905 and the mine is the world’s only significant source of rare and highly valuable blue diamonds.
The company said it was confident the price paid per carat was one of the highest ever for a rough diamond.
Petra started trading on the main market on Wednesday after moving up from the junior AIM market. The African-focused diamond producer hopes to be included in the FTSE 250 index next March.
In its prospectus released on Dec. 15, the company said rough diamond prices from July to Dec. 13 had resulted in its gross revenue, over the same period, falling about $23.0m lower than the company’s expectations.
“In the short term, global economic uncertainty may continue to cause some volatility in rough diamond pricing, but it should be noted that demand from Asia and other emerging markets is continuing to grow strongly and is lessening the reliance on the major US market,” it said.
Shares in Petra were up 1.8 percent at 09:05 GMT, outperforming a 0.8% gain in a British mining index .
