Weak demand takes shine off Petra Diamonds revenue

After almost three years of rating the mining giant’s stock as overweight, JPMorgan downgraded it to neutral on Wednesday.

The document divides operations into six levels, from zero (entirely manual) to five (fully autonomous), and assists in the preparation of a business case for autonomous mining, depending on level and needs.

Decision was made to give more artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) the opportunity to benefit from the program, which helps them trace route of their diamonds throughout the supply chain.

The 118.91-carat stone is the largest recovered at the site in the past two years.

Graff has now created a 302.37-ct square emerald cut diamond – the world’s largest of that particular cut.

The 28-carat diamond, named Argyle Octavia, will be auctioned in Antwerp, Belgium.

The underground extension of Aikhal will keep it in operations until 2044 and it's estimated to cost about $154 million.

The new deposit should compensate for the depleting stock of the Komsomolsky open-pit mine.

The find is the third Type II D-colour gem-quality diamond weighing more than 100 carats recovered since March and the fourth such rock discovered in the current financial year.