Petra Diamonds Recovers 122.52 Carat Blue Diamond at Cullinan

Fri, 13th Jun 2014 08:39 By Tom McIvor

LONDON (Alliance News) - Petra Diamonds Ltd shares jumped to the top of the FTSE 250 index Friday morning after saying it has recovered another exceptional 122.52 carat blue diamond at the Cullinan mine in South Africa.

Petra Diamonds shares were up 6.3% to 177.54 pence.

The diamond mining company with operations in Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa said the stone will require further analysis in order to assess its potential value, but once this is completed, the company will make a decision on its sale plan for the stone.

It said that the diamond will therefore not be sold until after the end of the company's current financial year, which ends on June 30.

The Cullinan mine, which the company acquired in 2008, is well known as the source of many of the world's most spectacular diamonds, including the two main diamonds in the British Crown Jewels.

The news comes after the company announced in January that it had recovered a 29.62 carat blue diamond from the same site. It sold the diamond for USD25.6 million in February.