Johannesburg: South African diamond mining, development and exploration company Diamond Corp has announced the sale of 8.648 carats of Lace Mine diamonds through direct sales and competitive tender. This marks the first sale of Lace Mine diamonds since 1931.

The company said that 6,247 carats of the diamonds were greater than 1.25mm in diameter and were recovered as a result kimberlite development and production ramp-up. The sale raised $1.09 million, representing an average of $175 per carat.

Two special stones were included in the sales, a 22.11-carat H-colored stone that sold at $5,000 per carat. The other was 1.08-carat Type II purple stone, which sold at tender for $6,363 per carat. The 22.11-carat stone has been cut and polished into two stones – a 7.19-carat F coloured VVS2 emerald shape diamond and an E/F colour 0.85 carat pear shape diamond. DiamondCorp will receive an additional 50 percent of the profit from these stones when the polished diamonds are sold.

“We are extremely pleased with the level of demand shown for the Lace production and the prices we achieved in all size categories,” said DiamondCorp CEO Paul Loudon. “Overall sentiment in the diamond market remains relatively positive compared to the end of 2015, and the price increases seen in January are being maintained.”