Rare blue diamond: A mining firm said it found a rare 25.5-carat blue diamond in South Africa, which reportedly sent the company’s shares up by as much as 5 percent on Wednesday.
Petra Diamonds said the diamond was found at its Cullinan facility, according to reports.
Like pink diamonds, blue diamonds are considered extremely rare and are highly valuable, selling for millions of dollars. “It’s very unusual for a diamond of this quality and size to come to market,” company spokeswoman Cathy Malins told the BBC.
Experts told the BBC that the gem could be worth more than $10 million.
“Blue diamonds are the rarest of all diamond and Cullinan is one of the largest producers of the stones,” Jeremy Dibb, analyst at Canaccord, told the Daily Telegraph. “Cullinan produced an important blue stone following the acquisition by Petra Diamonds.”
Petra discovered a 26.6-carat blue diamond at the Cullinan mine several years ago, and it was sold in an auction in 2009 for $9.49 million.
“If this is anything to go by, a similar number may be expected to go straight to the bottom line,” Numis Securities’ Cailey Barker told Reuters.
The famed Star of Africa, the second-largest cut diamond in the world, was found at the Cullinan facility in 1905. It was given to British King Edward VII and is now part of the British crown jewels.
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