Premier Mine
Encyclopedia
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
mine owned by Petra Diamonds
Petra Diamonds
Petra Diamonds Ltd. is a leading diamond mining group. It is headquartered in Jersey, and is the largest diamond producer listed on Alternative Investment Market, part of the London Stock Exchange. It currently operates in South Africa, Tanzania, and Botswana, and previously worked on projects in...
. It is situated in the town of Cullinan
Cullinan, Gauteng
Cullinan is a small town 30 km east of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Sir Thomas Cullinan discovered a rich diamond pipe here in 1902 and soon afterwards, on 25 June 1905, the famed Cullinan Diamond, the largest in the world at , was discovered by Frederick Wells, surface manager of the Premier...
, 40 kilometres east of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, Gauteng Province, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Established in 1902, it was renamed the Cullinan Diamond Mine in November 2003 in celebration of its centenary. The mine rose to prominence in 1905, when the Cullinan Diamond
Cullinan Diamond
The Cullinan diamond is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, at .The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, , also from the...
— at the time the largest gem diamond ever — was discovered here. It is also the only significant source of blue diamonds in the world.
Cullinan Diamond Mine sold to Petra Diamonds
De Beers, the world's biggest diamond producer, said on Thursday 22 November 2007 it had sold its historic Cullinan mine to a consortium led by Petra Diamonds.Notable Discoveries
The Cullinan DiamondCullinan Diamond
The Cullinan diamond is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, at .The largest polished gem from the stone is named Cullinan I or the Great Star of Africa, and at was the largest polished diamond in the world until the 1985 discovery of the Golden Jubilee Diamond, , also from the...
is the largest rough gem-quality diamond ever found, at 3,106.75 carats (621.35 g).[1] It was found by Frederick Wells, surface manager of the Premier Diamond Mining Company in Cullinan, Gauteng, South Africa, on January 25, 1905. The stone was named after Sir Thomas Cullinan
Sir Thomas Cullinan
Sir Thomas Cullinan was a South African diamond magnate. He is renowned for giving his name to the Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever discovered, and as owner of the Premier Mine, now renamed the Cullinan Mine, from which the famous gem was extracted on 26 January 1905...
, the owner of the diamond mine.
In May 2008, a sparkling shield-shaped 101.27 carats (20.3 g) diamond (about the size of a pingpong ball) mined from the Premier Mine sold for more than $6.2 million at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Cut from a 460 carats (92 g) rough, the shield-shaped gem boasts 92 brilliant facets. While internally flawless, the stone has a slight imperfection on the surface that is imperceptible to the human eye, the auction house said. It is the largest colourless diamond to appear on the auction market in the last 18 years, Christie's said. Only three colourless diamonds of more than 100 carats (20 g) have appeared at auction. All were sold in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. Naming rights were granted to the new owner.
In September 2009, a 507 carats (101.4 g) diamond was found, and is ranked as one of the 20 biggest high quality diamonds ever discovered.
Petra Diamonds sold the 507 carats (101.4 g) diamond for $35.3 million on February 26, 2010, breaking a record as the highest price ever paid for a rough diamond