Another rare blue diamond foun

Photo: Twitter/Petra Diamonds

Another rare blue diamond found at Cullinan mine [photos]

Petra Diamonds Ltd. recently announced the recovery of a rare 20.08-carat blue diamond at the famous Cullinan Diamond Mine.

Another rare blue diamond foun

Photo: Twitter/Petra Diamonds

A rare 20.08-carat blue diamond was found at the famous Cullinan mine on Monday. Petra Diamonds Limited released a press release soon after the ‘exceptional’ gem quality Type IIb diamond was found at the Cullinan Diamond Mine.

Photo: Twitter/Petra Diamonds

It is said that the timing of the recovery of the diamond couldn’t have come at a better time as the company has been struggling financially for a while.

“Today’s recovery not only demonstrates the quality of Petra’s asset base, as the Cullinan diamond mine remains a significant source of rare blue diamonds, but it again confirms the prevalence of exceptional stones in the Cullinan orebody as well as the ability of the mine’s plant to recover the full spectrum of diamonds,” the company said.

The company also announced it would report production and sales results for the quarter ending 30 September on Monday, 21 October.

Another blue diamond:

Back in 2014, Petra also announced that they discovered an ‘exceptional’ 29.6-carat blue diamond.

Petra Diamonds - Cullinan 29,6Ct Blue Diamond
Petra Diamonds CEO Johan Dippenaar holds the 29.6 carat blue diamond recovered in January 2014. Photo: Petra Diamonds Limited

They said that blue diamonds are among the rarest and most highly coveted of all diamonds, and the Cullinan mine is the most important source of blue diamonds in the world.

The stone was said to be one of the most exceptional stones recovered at Cullinan during Petra’s operation of the mine. It was later sold in 2015 for $48.5 million, marking a world record price per carat for any diamond at the time.

About the Cullinan Mine

Located at the foothills of the Magaliesberg mountain range, 37 kilometres north-east of Pretoria, the Cullinan mine earned its place in history in 1905 with the discovery of the Cullinan diamond, the largest rough gem diamond ever found at 3 106 carats.

This iconic stone was cut into the two most important diamonds that form part of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London – the First Star of Africa, which is mounted at the top of the Sovereign’s Sceptre and which at 530 carats is the largest flawless cut diamond in the world, and the Second Star of Africa, a 317-carat polished diamond which forms the centrepiece of the Imperial State Crown.

According to Petra Diamonds, the Cullinan mine frequently yields diamonds larger than 10 carats, and has produced over 750 stones weighing more than 100 carats, 130 stones weighing more than 200 carats, and around a quarter of all diamonds weighing more than 400 carats.

“Cullinan is also renowned as the world’s most important source of blue diamonds, providing the collection of 11 rare blues displayed in 2000 at London’s Millennium Dome alongside the Millennium Star and which included the fancy vivid blue ‘Heart of Eternity’ (27 carats polished),” the company said.