Gemfields plc announced yesterday that it had notched revenues of US$ 14.3 million for its auction of lower quality emerald held in Jaipur, India, from May 17-20, 2016. The Company said also, that a “new record of US$ 5.15 per carat for lower quality auctions” had been set at this auction.

A total of 3.67 million carats of lower quality emerald extracted from Kagem were placed on offer, of which 2.78 million carats (76%) were sold; of the 18 lots put out in auction, 14 lots were sold. A total of 26 companies participated in the bidding. 

“While there was good demand for most of the lots placed on offer, a few of the lots in which there was a slightly higher degree of uncertainty with respect to final recovery from rough to finished goods did not achieve the preset Minimum Reserve Price and were thus held back,” Gemfields stated.  The Company, however, said it believed that these goods “offer considerable opportunity to further build demand in other new areas”.  

 "Jaipur has delivered another solid auction result, including a new record price per carat for our lower quality emerald auctions,” commented Ian Harebottle, CEO of Gemfields. “The results from this auction mean that the Kagem mine has exceeded US$ 100 million of declared revenues for the current financial year, and while we are confident that these numbers will be well surpassed in the years to come, we remain grateful for the part that each of our loyal staff members have played in ensuring that Kagem is the first mine to reach anywhere near this milestone in the history of the Zambian gemstone sector.”

Gemfields announced that the Company’s next auction will be held in Singapore in June 2016 at which predominantly  mixed quality rough ruby from the Montepuez ruby deposit in Mozambique will be on offer.