At the end of six months ending December 31, 2009, Petra Diamonds noted a 43 percent increase in its net revenues from its mining operations, amounting to $48.2 million. The mining company has cited a rising demand for rough diamonds during its trading update in the said six months, reports say. The company has also noted prices returning back on a strong note from its six producing mines; and the growing demand from China and India having helped cover up the fall in demand from the U.S. and European markets. Also, the rise in jewellery sales and consumer purchasing interest in the U.S. during the Christmas holidays can be encouraging for rough diamond demand in the current year. %% Diamond tenders by the company received a highly favourable response in the said six months. The company now expects a positive trend to remain, on the lines of retailers and cutting centers starting to add more inventory to meet the increase in demand. The company has been one of the few such to have maintained production and sales levels during the economic downturn. The company noted that Total gross production in the first half, including production at its mines that is not attributable to the company, increased by 12 percent to 614,594 carats. %% Gross production at Cullinan mine increased by 4 percent to 473,406 carats, and average price achieved was up by 74 percent, as compared to the first six months of the year, to $87 per carat. The production at the company’s Koffiefontein mine dipped by 18 percent to 31,015 carats, with the average price increasing by 73 percent from the preceding six months to $337 per carat. The production at the three fissure mines - Helam, Sedibeng and Star — in South Africa, increased by 11 percent to 41,815, and the average price was up by 26 percent to $172 per carat. Production at Williamson mine increased by more than three-fold to 65,168 carats as average prices rose 13 percent from January through June 2009 to $141 per carat for the reporting period. %% In repose to the future plans, the company is targeting to reach 1.2 million carats in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, and annual production of 3 million carats by 2019, as per its current expansion plan. A major part of the expansion refers to gaining access to the c-cut resource at Cullinan that would increase output there from 900,000 carats per year to around 2.6 million carats, reports say. The company also expects to complete its acquisition of the De Beers Kimberley Underground mines in the future and plans selling its Kono exploration project shares in Sierra Leone to its joint-venture partner, Stellar Diamonds, reports say.