South African Diamond Producers Organisation CEO and Pioneer Tender House director Yamkela Makupula poses with the diamond
Johannesburg-based Pioneer Tender House says the 29.52 ct Protea Pink diamond was sold on tender for a record $271 307/ct.
This is the highest sale price for any diamond sold by Pioneer to date.
The diamond, recovered from an ancient river terrace along the Middle Orange River, showcases why the alluvial diamond deposits of South Africa represent the highest and most consistent value per carat diamond supply in the world, Pioneer states.
As reported by Mining Weekly last month, a junior diamond mining company had recovered the fancy pink type II diamond from the banks of the Middle Orange River. The diamond is said to feature unusual depth of colour and exceptional clarity.
Its colour is reminiscent of the pink hues found in South Africa’s national flower, the protea, the publication reported.
The diamond was most likely derived from the 90-million-year-old Lesotho kimberlites and made a remarkable journey down the Orange river to be trapped in an ancient river terrace, about 500 km from its source, South African Diamond Producers Organisation vice-chairperson and geologist Lyndon de Meillon stated in a release to the publication.
The Middle Orange River, which is known as the area with the highest average value per carat in the world, also has the lowest grade in carat per hundred tonnes of any area actively mined, De Meillon explained.
The modern-day alluvial diamond miner uses no chemicals in the recovery process and rehabilitation of the mining areas has been proven to improve the carrying capacity of the land, De Meillon added.