Petra Production and Revenue Grows in ’09
January 13, 10 by Edon Ophir
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Petra CEO Johan Dippenaar
holds up a 168 carat white
diamond, one of Petra's
most notable diamonds
mined in 2009
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Petra Diamonds Limited is on track to achieve its production target of 1.2 million carats for the 2010 financial year, with group sales and production for the six months ended December 31, 2009 up 43 percent and 12 percent respectively, the company stated Wednesday.
In the long term, Petra said it will pursue an expansion plan to take production to over 3 million carats per year by 2019.
The diamond miner’s gross revenue for the last six months of 2009 was up 32 percent to $62.4 million on sales of 572,227 carats (gross) a 55 percent rise.
Petra attributed its revenue growth to increased production across all the mines, a significant improvement in rough diamond prices and the recovery of notable diamonds at their Cullinan and Koffiefontein mines in South Africa.
One notable diamond mentioned was an exceptional 168 carat white diamond mined at Cullinan that for $6.3 million.
"Petra has continued to consistently meet its operational targets and our production growth is on track as targeted for the 2010 financial year. The rough diamond market has improved significantly over the last six months and we have seen prices come back strongly at each of our six producing mines,” said CEO Johan Dippenaar.
