London-listed Gemfields revealed that it recorded total revenues of 68.7 million dollars from the auction that took place this June, involving raw rubies of mixed quality, extracted at the Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) mine, in the province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique.
In a statement, the organisation explained that 94 of the 97 lots made available were sold, corresponding to 97% satisfaction, with the average price per carat being set at 316.9 dollars (19,900 meticais), adding that “the proceeds of the auction will be fully repatriated to MRM with all royalties due to the Government of Mozambique”.
“This auction marks the 10th anniversary of Gemfields’ first auction, held in June 2014. We are pleased to announce another strong result that demonstrates the trust that loyal customers have in our product offering and auction platform. Although the results shouldn’t be compared directly, our team is proud to have passed the average selling price mark,” said Gemfields’ Executive Director of Production and Sales, Adrian Banks.
He also emphasised that “although the industry is currently facing some headwinds, partly due to a slowdown in China, we hope that this result will provide good comfort to other stakeholders in our sector”.
“As always, our thanks and appreciation go to MRM’s hard-working team, our partners Mwiriti and the Mozambican Executive, whose support makes these results and achievements possible,” he added.
The information released indicated that the ruby lots were made available in Bangkok for private and face-to-face viewing by customers, and that after this process, the auctions took place via an online platform adapted specifically for Gemfields and which allowed interested parties to participate.
The British company recently revealed that the exploitation of rubies at the Montepuez Ruby Mining mine has yielded one billion dollars (63.2 billion meticais) since 2012, emphasising that in 2023 in particular, the mining company had a total revenue of 151.3 million dollars (9.5 billion meticais).
A world leader in the responsible mining and marketing of coloured gemstones, Gemfields also operates and owns 75% of the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, described as “the largest emerald mine in the world”. It also holds bulk sampling licences in Ethiopia.
