Petra Diamonds earns US$86.2 million in second tender

Petra Diamonds Limited has announced that its second tender of H1 FY 2016, 1 July to 31 December 2015, with 606,080 carats sold yielding US$86.2 million in revenues, including the sale of the 23.16 carat pink stone from Williamson for US$10.05 million. All goods were sold, with the exception of ca. 3,200 carats with an estimated value of around US$166,000. 

The company also noted that the pricing on a like for like basis was flat in comparison to Petra's first tender of FY 2016; however the expected improvement in product mix has favourably impacted the average value per carat achieved for each of the Company's operations. 

Petra Diamonds further elaborates that the product mix can vary significantly from tender to tender, but it has guided for an improved product mix in FY 2016 due to the shift from the old diluted mining blocks at its underground mines in South Africa to the new undiluted mining blocks, as well as a lesser reliance on production from the Group's lower value tailings resources. The first significant input of undiluted ore is on track to contribute to the Group's production profile from H2 FY 2016, 1 January to 30 June 2016 onwards. 

The company also points out in its announcement that the rough diamond prices remain down ca. 9 per cent for FY 2016 to date on a like for like basis in comparison to Petra's actual results for Q4 FY 2015. However the impact of this on Petra's financial results has been mitigated by the significant weakening of the South African Rand over this period.