Petra Diamonds is anticipating strong diamond prices in 2011, miningweekly.com reports.

CEO John Dippenaar, speaking at the diamond company's annual general meeting on Monday, said that within three years, "significant [diamond] supply deficits are expected to emerge," with the largest diamond mines in the world already past their peak and demand for diamonds rising in new markets in China and India.

Petra mines diamonds at the Cullinan, Koffiefontein, and Kimberley mines in South Africa as well as the Williamson mine in Tanzania. The company is in the process of expanding the Cullinan mine, with the goal of increasing rough diamond production from 920,000 carats in 2010 to 2.4 million carats annually by 2019.

Production at Koffiefontein – recently deepened to 580 meters – is expected to increase to 117,000 carats a year by 2010.

Diamond production at the Kimberley Underground mines began in May 2010 and is expected to reach 100,000 carats in 2011, which is projected to rise to 180,000 carats per year after a second production plant is commissioned by June 2011.

In total, Petra Diamonds expects to produce over 2.5 million carats of diamonds a year from all of its mining operations and reach an annual production of 3 million carats by 2019.