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- Petra says that blue diamonds are very rare and few people in the industry have seen them.
- The collection of blue diamonds was mined at the Cullinan mine in September.
- Petra also announced that she abandoned a plan to sell her business or assets after she received no offers.
Debt-stricken Petra Diamonds, who recently unveiled a credit restructuring agreement, said Wednesday that it will put up for sale five of its rare blue gems mined in Cullinan.
The London-listed mine that has been hit by a slump in the diamond market said the five diamonds known as the Letlapa Tala Collection were mined in the space of a week of production in September 2020.
“This is likely to be the first time that five rough blue diamonds have been offered for sale at the same time, and buyers will be offered the opportunity to bid on individual stones, more than one, or the entire collection,” he said. the company. He said.
The Cullinan Mine, located on the outskirts of Pretoria, has a long history of unearthing some of the largest and rarest diamonds in history, including the 3106-carat Cullinan diamond that was cut to form the 530 ‘Great Star of Africa’ carats, and the 317-carat diamond ‘Second Star of Africa’, which are part of the British Crown Jewels.
The Letlapa Tala Collection has sizes of 25.75, 21.25, 17.57, 11.42 and 9.61 carats.
The company said blue diamonds are so rare that most people who work in the diamond industry haven’t even seen one, and there are no official statistics on their recovery.
Despite its famous discoveries, Petra Diamonds has not escaped a difficult business environment, including the impact of Covid-19 closures around the world, which reduced demand for rare stones. A plan announced in June to sell the company or its assets has led to no offer and has been abandoned, and the company announced a debt-for-equity restructuring plan on Tuesday.
Under its new structure, Petra said its $ 650 million of existing bond debt will be replaced in part by up to $ 337 million in new notes, including $ 30 million of new money contributed by debt holders.
The remaining note debt will be converted to equity, leaving debt holders with a combined 91 percent of the company, while existing shareholders will be diluted into a combined 9 percent stake.
Restructuring agreements that include financing agreements for BEE partners.
The plan, which has yet to meet shareholder approval, is expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2021.
Petra operates three mines in South Africa, Cullinan, Finsch and Koffiefontein, as well as Williamson in Tanzania. Chief Executive Officer Richard Duffy said operations returned to normal levels at his South African operations. However, the Williamson mine is still under care and maintenance and the decision to resume operation would depend on market conditions.
