Commencement of trading

Petra Diamonds Ld
17 June 2005


                Petra Diamonds Limited ('Petra' or 'the Company')

  Admission to trading on the AIM Market of London Stock Exchange plc ('AIM')
                  Completion of Merger with Crown Diamonds NL
                             £17.1 million placing

Petra Diamonds Limited (LSE: PDL), the diamond mining group, announces the
commencement of trading today on AIM of the Company following the completion of
the merger with Crown Diamonds NL ('Crown') ('the Merger') and a placing of
20,084,352 new ordinary shares at 85 pence per share with institutional
investors raising £17.1 million before expenses ('the Placing'). Williams de
Broe Plc acted as nominated adviser in connection with Petra's admission to AIM,
and broker to Petra in connection with the Placing.

As a result of the Merger, Petra has issued 37,962,256 new ordinary shares to
former Crown shareholders, which will rank pari passu with Petra's existing
ordinary shares in all respects. In addition, 16,163,191 Crown loan notes have
been converted into Petra loan notes. These notes must be redeemed or converted
into Petra ordinary shares (on an 8 for 1 basis) on or before 30 November 2005.
On admission to AIM, Petra's issued ordinary share capital stands at 130,936,572
shares.

Petra's ordinary share capital and convertible notes will commence trading on
the ASX on 20 June 2005. The ASX trading symbol for the ordinary shares will be
PDL.

As a result of the Merger, Crown has become a subsidiary of Petra and the
enlarged Petra Group now has:

- an impressive exploration and asset base, coupled with successful
income-producing and cash flow positive diamond mines;
- a well balanced portfolio of diamond assets in various phases of development,
ranging from green field exploration to production;

- an enhanced geographical spread of diamond assets on the African continent
(Angola, South Africa and Sierra Leone);

- an experienced management team and workforce; and

- a solid business capable of further expansion.

The Placing

The Company is issuing 20,084,352 new ordinary shares at 85 pence per share to
raise approximately £17.1 million, before expenses. These shares will rank pari
passu with Petra's existing ordinary shares in all respects.

The proceeds of the Placing receivable by Petra will be used as follows:

- £2 million on deferred acquisition costs in respect of the Helam mine;
- £2.7 million on developing the Sierra Leone joint venture properties;
- £3.7 million on new business opportunities in Southern Africa and Sierra
Leone;
- £1.2 million on Angolan business opportunities, further to Alto Cuilo;
- £3.2 million on settlement of term loans;
- £1.4 million on securing the Petra's outstanding loan notes;
- £1.8 million on costs and placing fees related to the Merger and admission to
AIM and the ASX; and
- £1 million on group working capital.

Board of directors

As a result of the Merger, two members of the Crown board, Johan Dippenaar and
James Davidson, have been appointed to the Petra board as Chief Executive
Officer and Technical Director of the Company respectively. Kevin Dabinett,
formerly Chief Executive Officer, has become Chief Operating Officer of the
Company. The search for a new non-executive director to replace Volker Ruffer
has commenced and Mr Ruffer will remain as a director of the Company until such
time as a suitable replacement has been found.

Christoffel Johannes Dippenaar (CA), aged 47, was previously Chief Executive
Officer of Crown. He is a chartered accountant by profession and a member of the
Chartered Accountants of South Africa with over 17 years' experience in the
management of companies of which 15 years has been in the management of mining
companies.

James Murry Davidson, aged 59, was previously Technical Director of Crown. He is
a qualified geologist and a member of the Geological Society of South Africa
with over 20 years' experience in mine management.

Strategy

Petra's strategy is to build a mid-tier diamond group by creating a solid
exploration base combined with successful income producing mines and a
geographically diversified spread of quality diamond assets on the African
continent. The Merger will balance Petra's current exploration portfolio with
Crown's producing diamond operations, allowing the Company to benefit from a
diamond market in which analysts predict demand will exceed supply in the short
to medium term. Petra will continue to consider other opportunities to further
enhance its portfolio of diamond assets.

Adonis Pouroulis, Chairman of Petra, commented, 'The merger with Crown is a
major deal for Petra and we are delighted that the transaction, the placing, the
admission to AIM and listing on ASX are now all completed. Our well-balanced
exploration and producing asset base gives us a solid foundation from which to
build the Company. We are excited by the future prospects ahead of us, both in
terms of developing existing projects and also in the assessment of exciting
opportunities within the diamond sector.'


For further information, please contact:

David Abery                                Justine Howarth /
Petra Diamonds, South African office       Annabel Leather
Tel: [phone]                       Parkgreen Communications, London
                                           Tel: [phone]

Frank H. Moxon                             Karl Paganin /
Williams de Broe Plc, London               Michael Soucik
Tel: [phone]                      Euroz Securities, Perth
                                           Tel: [phone]




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange