|
|
Petra Sells $86M at Second 1H Tender as Average Price Surges
Dec 14, 2015 8:30 AM
By Rapaport News
|
|
|
RAPAPORT... Petra
Diamonds sold 606,080 carats for $86.2 million at its second tender of the first
half of fiscal year 2016 ending December 31, 2015. The figures include the sale
of a 23.16-carat pink stone from the Williamson mine in Tanzania for $10.1 million
and unsold parcels from the first tender of the six-month period.
The average price surged 43 percent over the first tender to
$142 per carat, driven by an improvement in product mix that outweighed flat pricing,
according to a Petra statement December 11. The miner has guided toward a superior
product mix in the fiscal year to June 30, 2016, because of a shift from the
old, diluted mining blocks at its underground mines in South Africa to new,
undiluted mining blocks. It will also rely on lower-value tailings to a lesser
degree.
The Williamson mine produced the most valuable precious
stones at $579 per carat on average, including exceptional diamonds. Gems from
South Africa’s Koffiefontein fetched an average of $562 per carat, while diamonds
from Kimberley Underground, also in South Africa, averaged $298 per carat. All goods were sold except approximately 3,200 items worth an estimated
$166,000.
Rough diamond prices in the period since the
start of the company’s fiscal year on July 1 fell approximately 9 percent compared
with the fourth quarter to June 30. However, the weakening of the South African
rand by more than 23 percent between June 30 and December 10 mitigated the
impact of lower prices on Petra’s financial results.
The
company will hold, as usual, four tenders in the second half starting January 1.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tags:
mining, Petra Diamonds, producers, Rapaport News, rough tenders, South Africa, tanzania
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|