PRESS RELEASE: Gemfields ruby auction raises US$52 million

A smaller, higher-quality offering of Mozambican rough ruby achieved Gemfields’ strongest average price per carat of its five most recent mixed-quality auctions.

Gemfields’ latest auction of mixed-quality rough ruby, held from 5 to 16 October, raised US$52.0 million. The rubies were mined in Mozambique by Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM), which is 75% owned by Gemfields and 25% by its partner, Mwiriti.

Of the 99 lots offered, 90 were sold, accounting for 92,153 of the 102,099 carats on offer. The average price was US$564.54 per carat, the highest of the company’s five most recent mixed-quality auctions and roughly double the US$279.39 achieved in February. Forty-six companies placed bids.

Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ Managing Director of Product & Sales, said the results reflected robust demand across the sizes and qualities offered. “We saw particularly strong prices for larger, fine-quality rubies,” he said. “This underscores the premium customers place on these exceptionally rare and precious rubies.”

At just over 20 kilograms, the auction was smaller than in previous years and made up mainly of higher-quality stones. Banks put the lower volume down to operational challenges this year and to the “Trade Select” strategy introduced in June, under which selected grades and categories are now offered separately. He said the change gives buyers a more focused offering and lets MRM match the timing and make-up of its auctions more closely to production and market demand. The next Trade Select auction is planned for December.

The lots were viewed privately in person by customers in Bangkok, followed by a sealed-bid auction on an online platform adapted for Gemfields, allowing buyers from several countries to take part. All proceeds will be returned to MRM in Mozambique, with royalties paid to the Mozambican government on the full sale prices.

Gemfields notes that each auction varies in the size, colour and clarity of the stones offered, so results are not always directly comparable.

Recent mixed-quality ruby auctions

About Gemfields

Gemfields is a leading miner of coloured gemstones, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and London’s AIM. It operates and owns 75% of both Kagem Mining in Zambia, a world-leading emerald mine, and Montepuez Ruby Mining in Mozambique, one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world. The company also holds interests in other gemstone mining and prospecting licences in Zambia, Mozambique and Madagascar. It has developed its own grading system and auction platform to give downstream markets a consistent supply of coloured gemstones.

Find out more: gemfieldsgroup.com