Death casts cloud over Petra Diamonds' sparkling results

The latest in a string of fatal accidents at Petra Diamonds’ mines took the shine off a 48% sales surge earlier.

Johan Dippenaar, the boss of the FTSE 250 miner, said an employee died in November after being struck by a falling rock at its Finsch site in South Africa. That followed the deaths of four workers at its African mines in August and September.

Dippenaar said: “Safety remains our highest priority and we are placing renewed focus on this vital area, and relentlessly striving for a zero harm workplace.”

The shares fell 1.6p to 154.6p after the company said revenue increased to $228.5 million (£183.6 million) from $154 million in the six months to December 31, with production up by 24% to 2,015,087 carats.

Petra reported that there had been “some evidence of improving retail demand”, with some jewellery businesses reporting growth in Christmas sales.

The company added that it expects market conditions to remain stable in the second half.