JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diamond mining and marketing company Petra has sold $72.1-million worth of rough diamonds in its fourth tender cycle, which is 12.5% up on the third tender's like-for-like prices and which is viewed as confirming an improving diamond price trend.

Petra CEO Richard Duffy ascribed the positive pricing trend to a recovery in demand from China, coupled with a more buoyant outlook from the recent Hong Kong International Jewellery Show. Stronger demand from major jewellery brands has also supported prices for smaller goods, the London Stock Exchange-listed company that focuses on value over volume said on Wednesday.

“Solid demand for coloured stones across all size ranges was evident in this cycle leading to improved pricing. We continue to expect a supportive diamond market in the medium to longer term as a result of the structural supply deficit. Current levels of demand remain robust, though we are cognisant of possible near-term volatility owing to recent geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty,” Duffy stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

The fourth tender cycle recorded sales of 505 398 ct from Petra’s South African operations, with no sales of diamonds from Petra’s Williamson diamond mine in Tanzania, where operations remain suspended following a tailings dam breach on November 7 last year, recorded in this cycle.

The results of the fourth tender bring financial year to date revenue from rough diamond sales to $278.5-million compared with $405.3-million in the first four tenders of financial year 2022.

The lower volume sold in 2023’s fourth tender cycle relative to the equivalent tender last year was driven by lower production from the South African operations, and no production from the Tanzanian operation, with Williamson’s restart planned for the first quarter of financial year 2024.

The like-for-like rough diamond price improvement was the result of double-digit increases in most categories.