Petra Looks to Offload South Africa Mine

RAPAPORT... Petra Diamonds is exploring options for exiting its Koffiefontein mine in South Africa, noting that another company could extend the site's operations beyond the scheduled closure date of 2025.The deposit has an estimated resource of approximately 5.25 million carats remaining, 1.1 million of which are indicated diamonds, meaning tests have confirmed their presence, Petra said Tuesday. As part of the offloading process, Petra will likely cut a number of its staff to keep the operation sustainable until its end of mine plan, it stated."It may be feasible for another owner to extend the mine's life," the company explained. "The focus of this disposal process will be to identify a technically and financially suitable buyer that could potentially unlock further value from Koffiefontein."If Petra is unable to find a buyer by May 9, it will continue to run the mine until 2025, before initiating a decommissioning, rehabilitation and closure program, it added.Image: The Koffiefontein mine. (Petra Diamonds)