Public Disposal Process

RNS Number : 7169L

Petra Diamonds Limited

07 September 2012

 



7 September 2012

LSE: PDL

Petra Diamonds Limited

("Petra" or "the Company" or "the Group")

Public Disposal Process in respect of the Fissure Mines

Further to the announcement dated 31 July 2012 entitled "Proposed Sale of Fissure Mines", Petra Diamonds Limited has commenced the disposal process in respect of its fissure mine operations, namely the Helam, Sedibeng and Star mines in South Africa (the "Fissure Mines"). Petra has appointed QuestCo (Pty) Limited ("QuestCo"), a South Africa-based corporate finance adviser with prior experience in the successful sale of other diamond assets in South Africa, to manage the sale process.

Highlights

Petra is of the view that the Fissure Mines present a rare opportunity to purchase high quality, sustainable kimberlite operations. The Fissure Mines have the following attractive characteristics:

·     long strike length kimberlite fissure operations;

·     proven track record of production for more than 50 years;

·     long life of mines with 5 million carats of resources;

·     high quality diamonds - the average value per carat is high in comparison to the world average;

·     production is not subject to any supply/off-take agreement (other than the State Diamond Trader allocation, as applied in South Africa);

·     high quality infrastructure in place - relatively little short-term capital expenditure required;

·     the consistent production profile of kimberlite operations, but on a manageable scale for a smaller operator; and

·     real potential to deliver strong returns under the ownership of an operator to whom they are core assets.

About the Fissure Mines

The Fissure Mines comprise the three mines - Helam, Sedibeng and Star. The Sedibeng operation is an amalgamation of the Messina and Dancarl fissure mines, as well as the Bellsbank kimberlite pipe - a promising, advanced-stage exploration project in the vicinity of the Sedibeng mine.

Helam, Sedibeng and Star are well-established fissure mines which have been in operation for more than 50 years. Helam is located 70km west of Rustenburg in the North West Province, Sedibeng is located 80km north-west of Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province, and Star is located 4km south of Welkom in the Free State Province.

The Fissure Mines are renowned for the consistent production of high value stones and the quality of the Fissure Mines' production is therefore well known to diamantaires. The average value per carat of the Fissure Mines is high for kimberlite operations, ranging across each of the mines from US$150 to US$500 per carat (FY 2012). The average for the Fissures Mines combined in FY 2012 was US$255 per carat, which is high in comparison to a global average of US$116 per carat (Kimberley Process statistics for 2011). To view a selection of photos of the Fissure Mines' production, please visit http://www.petradiamonds.com/media/image-library.aspx.

Process for registering Expressions of Interest

Bids will be considered for any one or combination of the Helam, Sedibeng or Star mines. Interested Parties may request documentation relating to this sale process by contacting Claudia Hein and/or David Austen of QuestCo (contact details below). The documentation includes an overview of the Fissure Mines, a description of the envisaged sale process, a confidentiality undertaking and a credentials questionnaire.

Under no circumstances should the management or employees of Petra be contacted about this matter directly. All information that an interested party would require at this stage of the sale process is included in the abovementioned documentation. 

Interested parties are invited to submit expressions of interest, along with signed confidentiality undertakings and completed credentials questionnaires, by no later than 5:00pm BST/ 6:00pm CAT on Friday, 21 September in order to be considered for participation in the sale process.

~Ends ~

For further information, please contact:

Petra Diamonds, London	Telephone: [phone]
Cathy Malins	[e-mail]

QuestCo (Pty) Limited
David Austen	Telephone: [phone] [e-mail]
Claudia Hein	Telephone: [phone] [e-mail]

Buchanan (PR Adviser)	Telephone: [phone]
Bobby Morse Cornelia Browne	[e-mail] [e-mail]

About Petra Diamonds Limited

Petra Diamonds is a leading independent diamond mining group and an increasingly important supplier of rough diamonds to the international market. The Company has interests in eight producing mines: seven in South Africa (Finsch, Cullinan, Koffiefontein, Kimberley Underground, Helam, Sedibeng and Star) and one in Tanzania (Williamson). It also maintains a highly focused exploration programme in Botswana.

Petra offers an exceptional growth profile, with a core objective to steadily increase annual production to 5 million carats by FY 2019. The Group has a major resource base in excess of 300 million carats.

Petra conducts all its operations according to the highest ethical standards and will only operate in countries which are members of the Kimberley Process. Petra is quoted with a premium listing on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker 'PDL' and is a member of the FTSE 250.

For more information, visit the Company's website at www.petradiamonds.com 

 

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