Petra Diamonds, a leading diamond mining company, has released its Q4 and FY 2023 operating update, providing insights into its recent performance and future projections. During the quarter, total diamond production decreased by 5% to 620,018 carats due to lower grades at the Cullinan Mine and Finsch. However, Petra has implemented remediation steps at both mines, and grades have now reverted to planned levels. Consequently, the FY 2023 production of 2.67 million carats was marginally below the previous guidance of 2.75 – 2.85 million carats.
The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Richard Duffy, expressed confidence in Petra’s ability to achieve robust production growth, highlighting positive developments at various mining operations.
Duffy stated, “With an operational turnaround underway at Finsch, the restart of Williamson ahead of schedule, and our capital projects on-track to deliver incremental growth, we are reiterating guidance for annual group production to increase by up to one million carats in FY 2025 and issuing further guidance of up to an additional 300,000 carats increase for FY 2026.”
In light of a temporary slowdown in demand for rough diamonds, Petra made the strategic decision to postpone the majority of its Tender 6 rough diamond sales into FY 2024. Nevertheless, the company expects a supportive diamond market in the medium to longer term, benefiting from a structural supply deficit.
In FY 2023, Petra achieved sales revenues totalling $328.4 million, a 44% decline versus FY 2022, partly due to the 86% drop in contribution from exceptional stones (worth $5 million+) to $12.6 million year-on-year.