Petra Diamonds Recovery of Five High Quality Blue Diamonds
16 September 2020 - 6:57PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMPDL
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 September 2020 LSE: PDL
Petra Diamonds Limited
("Petra", "the Company" or "the Group")
Recovery of Five High Quality Blue Diamonds at the Cullinan Mine
Update on Discussions with Financial Stakeholders
Petra Diamonds Limited announces that it has recovered five Type IIb blue
diamonds of high quality in terms of both their colour and clarity at the
Cullinan mine in South Africa. The diamonds are also significant in terms of
their size, being 25.75, 21.25, 17.57, 11.42 and 9.61 carats, and are assessed
to be individual stones and not originally part of one larger diamond.
Blue diamonds are so rare that there are no official statistics on their
recovery, however the Cullinan mine is known as the world's most important
source. The last blue diamond of significance was recovered a year ago at the
mine in September 2019 and it is therefore even more unusual to recover five
high quality stones around the same time, all in the space of one week's
production.
Given the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company is
maintaining a flexible approach to sales. It is therefore still evaluating the
optimal route to market for the stones and the Company will release further
information to its customer base on the marketing plan in due course.
Petra continues to undertake discussions with the Ad Hoc Group of holders of
the Group's Senior Secured Second Lien Notes ("AHG") and also with the South
African lender group regarding a long term solution to improve the Group's
capital structure. The Company will make a further announcement in relation to
these discussions in due course. While the Company continues to have
constructive engagement with the AHG and the lender group, there can be no
certainty that these discussions will result in agreement being reached.
In addition, these finds, whilst a positive development, will not have a
material impact on the likely terms of the required long term solution to
improve the Group's capital structure, nor the significant level of equity
dilution that existing shareholders are likely to experience in connection with
its implementation.
Photos of the blue diamonds can be viewed at www.petradiamonds.com/media/
image-library/diamonds and further information on the heritage of the Cullinan
mine and its diamonds can be found at https://www.petradiamonds.com/about-us/
our-heritage/ .
For further information, please contact:
Petra Diamonds, London Telephone: +44 20 7494 8203
Cathy Malins investorrelations@petradiamonds.com
Marianna Bowes
Des Kilalea
The information contained within this announcement is considered by the Company
to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulations (EU) No.596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a
Regulatory Information Service, this inside information will be considered to
be in the public domain. The person responsible for arranging for the release
of this announcement on behalf of the Company is Jacques Breytenbach, Finance
Director.
About Petra Diamonds Limited
Petra Diamonds is a leading independent diamond mining group and a consistent
supplier of gem quality rough diamonds to the international market. The Company
has a diversified portfolio incorporating interests in three underground
producing mines in South Africa (Finsch, Cullinan and Koffiefontein) and one
open pit producing mine in Tanzania (Williamson).
Petra's strategy is to focus on value rather than volume production by
optimising recoveries from its high-quality asset base in order to maximise
their efficiency and profitability. The Group has a significant resource base
of ca. 250 million carats, which supports the potential for long-life
operations.
Petra conducts all operations according to the highest ethical standards and
will only operate in countries which are members of the Kimberley Process. The
Company aims to generate tangible value for each of its stakeholders, thereby
contributing to the socio-economic development of its host countries and
supporting long-term sustainable operations to the benefit of its employees,
partners and communities.
Petra is quoted with a premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock
Exchange under the ticker 'PDL' and is a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index.
The Company's US$650 million loan notes due in 2022 are listed on the Global
Exchange market of the Irish Stock Exchange. For more information, visit
www.petradiamonds.com.
END
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