JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Diamond prices were expected to remain firm during 2013, Africa-focused diamond producer Petra Diamonds CEO Johan Dippenaar said on Tuesday.

Speaking during a conference call to discuss the group’s 2013 interim performance, he said the rough diamond market remained flat during the first half of the financial year, but a slight price increase towards the end of the six months ended December 2012 produced a “positive feeling” for the market moving into the second half of the financial year.

The diamond producer achieved prices of between $122/ct and $435/ct during the first half of the year, with its Koffiefontein operations generating the highest average price per carat and its Finsch mine delivering the lowest.

Petra reported a guidance of between $129/ct and $475/ct for the full financial year.

During the half-year, the diamond-mining group sold 1.06-million carats – a 57% jump from the 678 772 ct sold during the corresponding period the year before.

Five stones exceeding $1-million each were sold for a total of about $8-million during the period under review. Two of the highest value stones were produced from Petra’s Cullinan mine – a 68.6 ct white stone sold for $3.45-million and a 39.9 ct rough stone, polished into a 13.2 ct high-quality white polished stone, sold for $1.48-million.

Total diamond production for the period reached 1.25-million carats in the first half – a 31% jump from the 953 553 ct produced in the prior corresponding period.

Petra FD David Abery said the company achieved a 54% rise in revenue, reaching $156.3-million in the first half of 2013, compared with the $101.4-million reported in the corresponding period in 2012.

The Finsch mine contributed revenue of $65.9-million and sold 540 728 ct, up 133% and 146% respectively from the revenue of $28.3-million and sales of 219 408 ct recorded in the corresponding six-month period last year.

The operation produced 55% more carats, from 414 563 ct in the first half of 2012, to 642 654 ct in the same period a year later.

Revenue generated from the Cullinan mine remained static during the period under review, contributing $48.6-million. The mine produced 408 764 ct – an 8% fall from 444 040 ct in the prior period – and sold 4% fewer carats at 363 833 ct.

The group’s Koffiefontein mine contributed $7.3-million to revenue during the first half of 2013, up 12% from $6.5-million in the first half of 2012. Production fell 14% from 21 538 ct in the first half of last year, to 18 529 ct this year. The mine sold 16 800 ct in the period under review, a rise from the 15 196 ct sold the year before.

Revenue from Kimberley Underground mine rose almost 50%, from $8.1-million in the first half of 2012, to $11.9-million in the corresponding period this year. The operation sold 45 776 ct in the six-month period – recording a 73% increase from 26 395 ct in the corresponding period the year before – and produced 71% more carats reaching 59 304 ct.

The Fissure operation, which comprised the Halem, Sedibeng and Star mines and was currently in the process of being sold, generated $4.6-million in revenue, falling 45% from the $8.4-million recorded in the first half of 2012.

Over 27 350 ct were sold during the review period, compared with 32 835 ct in the first six months of 2012.

The company’s Tanzania-based Williamson mine sold 72 172 ct, produced 79 910 ct and generated revenue of $17.9-million.

The group on Tuesday lowered its production guidance for the 2013 financial year to 2.65-million carats, from the previously forecast 2.85-million carats, owing to the impact of labour disruptions in October 2012; however, Dippenaar was confident of reaching the company’s five-million-carat-a-year production target for 2019.

Petra’s expansion projects at Finsch, Cullinan, Koffiefontein and Kimberley Underground were progressing well and in line with expectations.

Capital expenditure during the six months to December reached $92.1-million – $69.6-million of which was dedicated to the expansion projects – compared with the $56.7-million spent in the corresponding period during the prior year.