Petra Diamonds rethinks sales tactics as market slump drags on

Africa-focused Petra Diamonds has scrapped regular diamond tenders in favour of opportunistic sales as the market for rough stones continues to slump.

The miner reported $53 million in sales from its fifth and sixth tenders of the year, covering production from its two South African mines. Petra will now report sales on a quarterly basis instead of following a fixed tender schedule.

“In response to fluctuations in diamond prices and demand, the company no longer follows regular tender cycles and may postpone portions of tenders or sell goods as run-of-mine,” the company said.

The strategic pivot mirrors De Beers’ reported off-market sales of discounted diamonds to selected clients. The move aimed to reduce inventory without officially slashing prices.

Petra said it sold 613,747 carats in the two tenders, a 29% increase from its fourth tender in February. The average price was $86 per carat, about 4% higher than February’s auction. On a like-for-like basis, prices were down 16% compared to the first six tenders of 2024, largely due to lower-value goods.

Year-to-date, the company has sold 2.39 million carats for $239 million, down from $329 million over the six first tenders of its 2024 financial year.

Petra delayed its April and May tenders due to a weaker product mix at its flagship Cullinan mine. The Finsch mine, meanwhile, saw improved pricing thanks to better ore access. The company expects an improved product mix as it ramps up production from the CC1E and the western side of the C-Cut block.

Petra also drew an additional $33 million in debt, bringing its consolidated net debt to $258 million by the end of March. It attributed this to working capital requirements.

“The continuing challenges in the diamond market and the weaker sales do not bode well given the ongoing negotiations to refinance Petra’s debt obligations,” Raj Ray, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, wrote on Monday.

Petra has been restructuring to cut costs, including the sale of its stake in Koffiefontein in October and the recent $16 million sale of the Williamson mine in Tanzania.

Petra shares fell almost 3.5% on the news to 19.5 pence each, putting its market cap at about £38 million ($51 million).

Source: DCLA

Indian Digger’s Diamond Fetches $111,000

A 19.22 carat diamond, recovered from a shallow mine by a part-time digger in India’s Panna district, sold at auction for $111,000 (Rs 93,79,360).

It was one of 29 diamonds sold by the Panna Diamond Office, as part of a deal in which farmers and laborers rent small patches of land from the government. The other 28 stones raised just over $28,000 between them.

Many of the stones recovered have failed to find buyers at the three-monthly auctions over the last two years, but demand picked up at this latest event, with large crowds of bidders in attendance.

Panna is said to be home to 1.2m carats. Part-time miners pay $2.70 for the rights to dig a 25ft square patch there and diamond finds are quite common.

In February 2022 a part-time prospector dug up a 26.11-carat diamond which later sold for at auction for $193,000.

Source: DCLA

Another Month of Decline for India’s Diamond Exports

A diamond in a polishing factory

India’s exports of polished diamonds suffered a further drop in May, down by almost 15 per cent to $1.47bn.

But the year-on-year rate of decline shows some signs of slowing, according to new figures from the GJEPC (Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council).

It fell 20 per cent in January, 28 per cent in February, 27 per cent in March and 17 per cent in April.

Diamonds are faring significantly less well than India’s overall gems and jewelry sector, which saw revenue for April slip by 6 per cent to $2.48bn.

Manufacturers bought more diamonds year-on-year in April and May (up almost 2 per cent by volume) but the price slump means imports are down almost 10 per cent by value are down by almost 10 per cent to $2.39bn.

Source: DCLA

India to Lead Demand for Natural Diamonds

India will lead demand for natural diamonds in 2024, says David Kellie, CEO of Natural Diamond Council (NDC), as US buyers increasingly switch to lab grown.

“The Indian market remains the strongest growth market in the world because of its strong financial position and changing demographics,” he told The Economic Times, in India.

“Indian women are now financially stronger, and they are driving the demand. The key economic indicators in the US are not yet favourable for a demand recovery in diamond purchase.”

Kellie (pictured) predicts a polarization between the natural and lab grown markets, with a price difference currently at 80 per cent to 90 per cent.

Natural diamonds will become increasingly rare, he said, with no new mines in prospect, and with miners digging deeper, and spending more, to reach remaining deposits.

Source: DCLA

Star Diamond confirms Type IIa high value diamonds at Orion North, Taurus kimberlites

 

Star Diamond has completed a study into the abundance of Type IIa diamonds in parcels recovered from the Early Joli Fou geological units at the Orion North (K120, K147 and K148) and Taurus kimberlites (K118, K122 and K150).

The pipes are located within the Fort a la Corne diamond district of central Saskatchewan, including the Star–Orion South diamond project, on properties held in a joint venture with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada.

These diamond parcels were recovered by Star Diamond between 2006 and 2008 from 120-cm diameter drilling programs. The latest study confirms that unusually high proportions of Type IIa diamonds are present in both the Orion North and Taurus kimberlites.

Of particular note is the high proportion of Type IIa diamonds in the Orion North 147-148 EJF (52%), of which 66% of the 24 stones, 0.66 carats and above are Type IIa. The largest Type IIa diamond identified was a 6.88-carat stone from Orion North (K147-K148 EJF).

Senior technical advisor George Read said that the Type IIa diamonds at Orion North and Taurus are top white in colour, Type IIa diamonds are rare and account for less than 2% of all natural rough diamonds mined from kimberlites. Many high-value, top colour, large specials (greater than 10.8 carats) are Type IIa diamonds, which include all 10 of the largest known rough diamonds recovered worldwide.

The study also confirms and augments an earlier study of Type IIa diamonds being present in the Fort a la Corne kimberlites with Star (26.5%) and Orion South (12.5%).

A target for further exploration completed by Star Diamond in 2014 estimated that between 881 million and 1.04 billion tonnes of the major EJF units, containing between 46 and 79 million carats, occur within the Orion North and Taurus kimberlite clusters.

Orion North (K147, K148 and K220) alone is estimated to contain between 340 million and 410 million tonnes of EJF kimberlite with an estimated range of grade of 2.75 to 8.37 carats per hundred tonnes.

Source: DCLA

Angola’s Rough-Diamond Revenue Rises in 2019

Revenue from Angola’s national diamond-trading company, Sodiam, rose 6% in 2019 as the company sold a higher volume of rough goods.

Proceeds for the year came to $1.3 billion from the sale of 9 million carats of rough diamonds, compared with 8.4 million carats in 2018, the government said in a Facebook post last week.  That offset a 10% drop in the average price to $137 per carat for the year. 

The increase came despite weakness in the rough-diamond market in 2019, with many miners, including De Beers and Alrosa, reporting a decrease in sales.

Angola implemented a new, more competitive diamond-trading policy that allows miners to offer 60% of their production to clients of their choice rather than selling through the state trading company.

In the fourth quarter, Sodiam sold 3 million carats of rough for $409 million, at an average price of $136 per carat.

Source: DCLA

Angola’s Rough-Diamond Revenue Rises in 2019

Revenue from Angola’s national diamond-trading company, Sodiam, rose 6% in 2019 as the company sold a higher volume of rough goods.

Proceeds for the year came to $1.3 billion from the sale of 9 million carats of rough diamonds, compared with 8.4 million carats in 2018, the government said in a Facebook post last week.  That offset a 10% drop in the average price to $137 per carat for the year. 

The increase came despite weakness in the rough-diamond market in 2019, with many miners, including De Beers and Alrosa, reporting a decrease in sales.

Angola implemented a new, more competitive diamond-trading policy that allows miners to offer 60% of their production to clients of their choice rather than selling through the state trading company.

In the fourth quarter, Sodiam sold 3 million carats of rough for $409 million, at an average price of $136 per carat.

Source: DCLA

India’s rough diamond imports fall sharply

Import of rough diamonds fell 15.54% in the first 10 months of this financial year, according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

Industry executives anticipate a further fall of 10-15% in February and March, as manufacturers are not keen to build up inventory in the wake of coronavirus outbreak which has affected demand in the major markets of Hong Kong, mainland China and the Far East.

Meanwhile, Russia’s diamond miner Alrosa has granted flexibility  

to India’s authorised bulk purchasers of rough diamonds to buy 55% of the contracted volume so that their inventory does not pile up. “The US-China trade war has impacted exports, which in turn has brought down imports of rough diamonds.

Slow demand in the world market has resulted in piling up inventories in FY20,” Colin Shah, vice-chairman, GJEPC, told ET. “Manufacturers wanted to clear their inventories first, before fres ..

fresh stocking. During the Christmas and New Year, there was good demand from the US and Europe and we were able to offload quite a substantial portion of our inventories.”

International agency Rapaport said in its recent report that the recent influx of rough diamonds in the market, coupled with the weakened outlook for China, had raised concerns that the trade would return to an oversupply of rough diamonds.

De Beers reported a 9% year-on-year increase in sales to $545

million in January, owing to firmer prices on select boxes of commercial-quality diamonds.

It said that mining companies were holding large quantities of rough diamonds which they could not sell in 2019. Production of rough diamonds is projected to decrease about 6% this year, although mining companies have enough inventory to offset the decline.

Source: DCLA

India’s rough diamond imports fall sharply

Import of rough diamonds fell 15.54% in the first 10 months of this financial year, according to the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

Industry executives anticipate a further fall of 10-15% in February and March, as manufacturers are not keen to build up inventory in the wake of coronavirus outbreak which has affected demand in the major markets of Hong Kong, mainland China and the Far East.

Meanwhile, Russia’s diamond miner Alrosa has granted flexibility  

to India’s authorised bulk purchasers of rough diamonds to buy 55% of the contracted volume so that their inventory does not pile up. “The US-China trade war has impacted exports, which in turn has brought down imports of rough diamonds.

Slow demand in the world market has resulted in piling up inventories in FY20,” Colin Shah, vice-chairman, GJEPC, told ET. “Manufacturers wanted to clear their inventories first, before fres ..

fresh stocking. During the Christmas and New Year, there was good demand from the US and Europe and we were able to offload quite a substantial portion of our inventories.”

International agency Rapaport said in its recent report that the recent influx of rough diamonds in the market, coupled with the weakened outlook for China, had raised concerns that the trade would return to an oversupply of rough diamonds.

De Beers reported a 9% year-on-year increase in sales to $545

million in January, owing to firmer prices on select boxes of commercial-quality diamonds.

It said that mining companies were holding large quantities of rough diamonds which they could not sell in 2019. Production of rough diamonds is projected to decrease about 6% this year, although mining companies have enough inventory to offset the decline.

Source: DCLA