Petra Diamonds announced today the name of the 507 carat white diamond as The Cullinan Heritage. Cullinan is the name of the mine from which it was recovered and Heritage refers to the date of its discovery on Heritage Day in South Africa, September 2009.
Petra Diamonds is an AIM-listed supplier of rough diamonds with a resource base of 262 million carats. In South Africa, Petra has interests in five producing mines Cullinan, Koffiefontein, Helam, Sedibeng and Star - and has also agreed to acquire the Kimberley Underground mines from De Beers (this acquisition is expected to complete imminently). In Tanzania, Petra has an interest in the Williamson mine.
The exceptional colour and clarity of the Cullinan Heritage make it one of the top 20 largest highest quality rough diamonds ever discovered, according to the announcement. The sales value of this rare diamond will be revealed following the completion of its tender in Johannesburg, towards the end of February.
Johan Dippenaar, Petra's CEO, commented,
"The Cullinan Heritage is not only exquisitely beautiful, but also of true historical importance. Since we announced the recovery of the diamond in September 2009, we have experienced a high level of interest from the trade and we look forward to announcing the results of the sale before the end of the month."
