Petra to sell blue diamonds recovered at Cullinan

 

Petra Diamonds (LON: PDL) announced the launching of a special tender process for the Letlapa Tala Collection, which comprises five blue diamonds sourced from the Cullinan mine in South Africa. 

Cullinan is known as the world’s most important source of blue diamonds, as well as being the place of birth of the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, which was cut to form the 530-carat Great Star of Africa and the 317-carat Second Star of Africa, being the two largest diamonds in the British Crown Jewels.

In a press release, Petra said that the name of the new collection actually means ‘blue rock’ in Northern Sotho (commonly known as Pedi), the predominant language spoken in the Cullinan area.

CULLINAN IS KNOWN AS THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF BLUE DIAMONDS

The collection consists of five Type IIb blue diamonds of 25.75, 21.25, 17.57, 11.42 and 9.61 carats, respectively. Type II diamonds contain no detectable nitrogen in their chemical structure and tend to display exceptional transparency. Type IIb stones contain a small amount of boron, which is what determines their blue colour.

“Blue diamonds are so rare that most people working in the diamond industry have never even seen one,” the media release states. “There are no official statistics on their recovery, so it is therefore even more unusual that these five spectacular stones were all recovered within the space of one week’s production in September 2020.”

According to Petra, this is likely to be the first time that five blue rough diamonds have ever been offered for sale at one time, with buyers being offered the chance to bid either on individual stones, more than one, or for the entire collection.

The Letlapa Tala gems will be available for viewings in Antwerp from October 25 to November 1; Hong Kong from November 5  to November 10; and New York from November 16 to November 20, 2020.

Source: DCLA

Petra to sell blue diamonds recovered at Cullinan

 

Petra Diamonds (LON: PDL) announced the launching of a special tender process for the Letlapa Tala Collection, which comprises five blue diamonds sourced from the Cullinan mine in South Africa. 

Cullinan is known as the world’s most important source of blue diamonds, as well as being the place of birth of the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, which was cut to form the 530-carat Great Star of Africa and the 317-carat Second Star of Africa, being the two largest diamonds in the British Crown Jewels.

In a press release, Petra said that the name of the new collection actually means ‘blue rock’ in Northern Sotho (commonly known as Pedi), the predominant language spoken in the Cullinan area.

CULLINAN IS KNOWN AS THE WORLD’S MOST IMPORTANT SOURCE OF BLUE DIAMONDS

The collection consists of five Type IIb blue diamonds of 25.75, 21.25, 17.57, 11.42 and 9.61 carats, respectively. Type II diamonds contain no detectable nitrogen in their chemical structure and tend to display exceptional transparency. Type IIb stones contain a small amount of boron, which is what determines their blue colour.

“Blue diamonds are so rare that most people working in the diamond industry have never even seen one,” the media release states. “There are no official statistics on their recovery, so it is therefore even more unusual that these five spectacular stones were all recovered within the space of one week’s production in September 2020.”

According to Petra, this is likely to be the first time that five blue rough diamonds have ever been offered for sale at one time, with buyers being offered the chance to bid either on individual stones, more than one, or for the entire collection.

The Letlapa Tala gems will be available for viewings in Antwerp from October 25 to November 1; Hong Kong from November 5  to November 10; and New York from November 16 to November 20, 2020.

Source: DCLA

WIN ! A PERTH MINT GOLD COIN WORTH OVER $300!

Prize:

The Perth Mint Gold Coin is one of Australia's iconic coins, worth over $300. With Gold prices at an ALL TIME HIGH, hold onto this piece and watch your Kangaroo jump up in value over the years.

How to enter:

Guess the Gold price of this 18 karat, Men's gold bracelet that is 9 years old. Like our page https://lnkd.in/dHTTTEi and comment below your answer to enter!

Date & time:

Competition will close on the 4th of November at 11.59pm.
This giveaway is in no way sponsored, associated, endorsed or administered with Facebook/Instagram.
See full terms and conditions here: https://lnkd.in/deEnaBk 

WIN ! A PERTH MINT GOLD COIN WORTH OVER $300!

Prize:

The Perth Mint Gold Coin is one of Australia's iconic coins, worth over $300. With Gold prices at an ALL TIME HIGH, hold onto this piece and watch your Kangaroo jump up in value over the years.

How to enter:

Guess the Gold price of this 18 karat, Men's gold bracelet that is 9 years old. Like our page https://lnkd.in/dHTTTEi and comment below your answer to enter!

Date & time:

Competition will close on the 4th of November at 11.59pm.
This giveaway is in no way sponsored, associated, endorsed or administered with Facebook/Instagram.
See full terms and conditions here: https://lnkd.in/deEnaBk 

Rio Tinto to Sell Final Argyle Specials

 

Rio Tinto will launch a tender of large rough diamonds, including the last of its special stones from the Argyle deposit in Australia.

The miner will feature 28,399 carats of special-sized rough — weighing more than 10.8 carats — from Argyle at the sale, which will take place in October and November, Rio Tinto said Tuesday. Colored diamonds from the site, which is due to close at the end of the year, as well as a 26-carat, gem-quality rough, will also be available.

“The Argyle rough diamonds presented at this tender are a final rare and collectible offering from one of the world’s greatest diamond mines,” noted Andrew Wilson, general manager of Argyle.

Rio Tinto will also offer large diamonds from its Diavik mine in Canada, including the Diavik Helios, which will headline the sale. The 74.48-carat, fancy-yellow diamond was named for the pure yellow sunlight emitted by the mythical Greek sun god.

“The Diavik Helios is an exceptional diamond in terms of its color saturation and clarity, and will be in strong demand from colored-diamond specialists around the world,” said Patrick Coppens, general manager of sales and marketing for Rio Tinto’s diamond business.

The company will showcase the diamonds physically in Antwerp and Tel Aviv, Israel, prior to the sale. It will also hold virtual and online viewings due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, it said. 

Source: DCLA

Rio Tinto to Sell Final Argyle Specials

 

Rio Tinto will launch a tender of large rough diamonds, including the last of its special stones from the Argyle deposit in Australia.

The miner will feature 28,399 carats of special-sized rough — weighing more than 10.8 carats — from Argyle at the sale, which will take place in October and November, Rio Tinto said Tuesday. Colored diamonds from the site, which is due to close at the end of the year, as well as a 26-carat, gem-quality rough, will also be available.

“The Argyle rough diamonds presented at this tender are a final rare and collectible offering from one of the world’s greatest diamond mines,” noted Andrew Wilson, general manager of Argyle.

Rio Tinto will also offer large diamonds from its Diavik mine in Canada, including the Diavik Helios, which will headline the sale. The 74.48-carat, fancy-yellow diamond was named for the pure yellow sunlight emitted by the mythical Greek sun god.

“The Diavik Helios is an exceptional diamond in terms of its color saturation and clarity, and will be in strong demand from colored-diamond specialists around the world,” said Patrick Coppens, general manager of sales and marketing for Rio Tinto’s diamond business.

The company will showcase the diamonds physically in Antwerp and Tel Aviv, Israel, prior to the sale. It will also hold virtual and online viewings due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, it said. 

Source: DCLA

Petra Diamonds shares fall on debt-for-equity deal

 

Petra Diamonds has abandoned plans to sell the business in favour of a debt-for-equity restructuring, it said on Tuesday, sending its shares lower because of the deal’s dilutive effect on existing stakeholders.

The London-listed company, which mines diamonds in South Africa and Tanzania, had put itself up for sale in June as part of the restructuring process but has received no viable offers, it said.

Its shares have slumped by more than 80% this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has battered the global diamond sector, with mines forced to shut down while consumer demand collapsed. The shares opened with an 18% drop and by 0952 GMT were down 3.6%.

Petra said its existing $650 million of bond debt will be partly replaced by up to $337 million of new notes, including $30 million of new money contributed by debtholders.

The remaining note debt will be converted into equity, leaving debtholders with a combined 91% of the company while diluting existing shareholders to a combined stake of only 9%.

“For existing equity holders it is very dilutive, as expected,” wrote Liberum analyst Ben Davis.

Existing shareholders will be diluted to “next to nothing”, Shore Capital analysts wrote.

Peel Hunt analysts took a more optimistic view, saying the restructuring would give Petra a more sustainable balance sheet and help it to benefit from a recovery in markets for rough diamonds. They calculated that Petra would be left with $444 million of gross debt.

Petra said it expects to seal a “lock-up agreement” cementing the terms with the noteholder group and South African lenders in early November. It expects the restructuring to become effective in the first quarter of 2021.

The agreement also includes new governance arrangements and cashflow controls.

Petra Chief Executive Richard Duffy expressed the company’s gratitude to the noteholder group and South African lenders for their agreement in principle to provide “meaningful additional liquidity” in what has been a difficult period.

Source: DCLA