The Story of Petra Diamonds

Petra Diamonds Ltd. is a diamond mining group with interests in six diamond producing mines in Sub Saharan Africa. Petra operates one open pit in Tanzania (the Williamson mine) and four underground mines in South Africa: Finsch, Cullinnan, Koffiefontein, and Kimberley Underground. Petra also holds tenders for its products in Johannesburg and Antwerp.

The miner’s most famous mine is the Cullinan, renowned as a source for large, high-quality stones and rare blue diamonds. The Cullinan Diamond – the largest rough gem ever found at 3,106 carats – was discovered there in 1905. According to the company’s website, the Cullinan mine contains a major diamond resource of 195 million carats, with potentially more than 50 years of continued production.

In January, 2016, Petra announced that its production for the six months ended 31 December 2015, at 1,629,403 carats, was up by 2% compared to production of 1,601,069 carats during the first half of 2015. However, the diamond miner’s revenue was down 28% to $154.0 million (compared with $214.8 million in the first half of 2015).