The Type IIb stone is of “exceptional quality” in terms of both color and clarity, the miner said.
Petra Diamonds Ltd. has another big blue diamond in its inventory.
The diamond miner announced Thursday [April 1] its recovery of a 39.34-carat Type IIb rough blue diamond of “exceptional quality” in terms of both color and clarity from the Cullinan mine in South Africa.
The company said it expects to sell the diamond via a special tender.
The Cullinan mine was originally called Premier but was renamed in homage to the famous 3,106-carat rough diamond of the same name that came from there.
A former De Beers property that has been operating since the early 1900s, Cullinan is known for producing large stones and blue diamonds.
In fact, another big diamond came from the mine earlier this year—Petra said it recently sold a 299.3-carat diamond recovered at Cullinan in January to Stargems DMCC for $12.18 million.
In addition to Cullinan, Petra Diamonds also owns Finsch and Koffiefontein in South Africa and Williamson, a currently mothballed open-pit mine in Tanzania.
The miner just completed its debt-for-equity restructuring, which it started after being unable to find a buyer after putting itself up for sale.
Photo © Petra Diamonds Ltd.
