THE MINING YEARBOOK 2021
ONE MIGHTY SHARE ISSUE SAVED PETRA DIAMONDS. WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE BORN-AGAIN FIRM? BY BRENDAN RYAN
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ith the loan restructuring completed - which reduces Petra’s debt to manageable levels - and a sustainable recovery hopefully underway in the global diamond market, CEO Richard Duffy is hoping the worst is over for the embattled diamond miner. An added bonus would be a successful outcome to the discussions currently underway between Petra and the Tanzanian government over a revised regulatory framework which would lead to the re-opening of the mothballed Williamson mine. A key issue in those discussions concerns a parcel of 71,654 carats of diamonds effectively placed in limbo after they were blocked for export in 2017 by the government under then hard-line president John
Magufuli, who died in March. He was replaced by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who Duffy says has made “very encouraging comments around a more investment friendly environment”. “I would probably be fairly pessimistic in the climate prevailing under the late President Magufuli but we are seeing a shift. I am confident we will get the discussions finalised.” In terms of the restructuring completed in March, Petra’s holders of $650m in notes due to be repaid in May 2022 have swapped those for new notes worth $337m - including a $30m cash injection - and equity in Petra such that they now own 91% of the company. The principal benefit is that Petra’s net debt dropped to $290.7m at end-March from $700m at end-December 2020.
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