GEMFIELDS Plc chief executive officer (CEO) Ian Harebottle says the company realised US$34.9 million from the auction of higher quality rough emeralds from Kagem mining Limited held in Lusaka recently.
Mr Harebottle said early during the week that this was the second highest revenue mark achieved by Gemfields at any of the auctions for higher quality emeralds. In statement issued to Zambian media, the CEO disclosed that the company’s 17 auctions of emeralds and beryl mined at Kagem since July 2009 had generated total revenues amounting to $311 million.
According to Mr Harebottle 34 companies bid in the second Gemfields auction during the current financial year ending June 30 2015. He explained that the average price realised in the auction, which was the sixth held in Lusaka since April 2013, was $65.89 a carat. “The auction saw 0.598 million carats of higher quality emerald extracted from Kagem placed on offer, with 16 of the 17 lots offered being sold, generating auction revenues of $34.9 million. “The auction realised an overall average value of $65.89 per carat, a new record for auctions of predominately higher quality material mined at Kagem,” Mr Harebottle said. He said Gemfields was pleased to see the continued zeal for coloured gemstones clearly reflected in its latest auction results. Zambian emeralds, Mr Harebottle added, were well established and greatly sought after on the international market, playing an increasingly prominent role for many of the world’s leading jewellery houses.