• Targeting 8% – 10% share of the $2 billion global colored gemstone market in 3 years
• The highly experienced and strong management team of Fura Gems will organize the unorganized colored gemstone sector
• Exploring various gemstone mining projects in India and planning to work with the central and state governments to reduce the reliance on imports of gemstones
• Fura Gems will bring new opportunities to the investor communities in India.

Mumbai: Fura Gems Inc. is aggressively looking at organizing the USD 2 billion gemstone market globally and is targeting a market share of 8% – 10% in the next 3 years. Focussed on this mission, the company also announced the commencement of its Bulk Sampling Program at the Coscuez emerald project in Boyacá, Colombia (the “Coscuez Emerald Mine”). The Bulk Sampling Program has been initiated and a total of 30,000 tons of material from the mineralized body are expected to be collected in the first phase of the program on or before 31 December 2018 using existing tunnels. This will give a tremendous boost to Fura Gems’ operations in India since 60% of the world’s emeralds are cut and polished in the country.

Mr. Dev Shetty, President & CEO of Fura Gems commented, “As a part of our larger expansion strategy, India is one of the top 3 markets for us. We are aggressively looking at the Bunder Diamond project in Madhya Pradesh and projects in the states of Jharkhand and Odissha which have a huge potential in terms of mineral deposits. We will be exploring mining acquisitions in these regions and will be working closely with the central and state governments. Given our experience, we are confident of reducing India’s coloured gemstones imports substantially.”

Mr. Rupak Sen, Vice President – Marketing & Sales of Fura Gems said, “India is the largest cutting and polishing centre for Emeralds in terms of volume. There is a growing demand for Emeralds in the Indian market and we intend to capitalise on the same by strategically organising the sector.”

Fura Gems owns a 76% beneficial interest in the Coscuez Emerald Mine, which covers a total area of 46 hectares. The main purpose of the Bulk Sampling Program is to collect the most representative samples from the mineralized body at different levels from all accessible tunnels and workings within the Coscuez Emerald Mine. During the initial phase of bulk sampling, a total of 1,720 carats of emeralds were mined, out of which 826 carats were high quality emeralds. The Fura management team has started designing the pilot wash-plant to support the bulk sampling process with a rated capacity of 30 tons per hour (“tph”) and the Company expects such plant to be commissioned on or before 30 June 2018.

Mr. Shetty further added, “We have achieved an important milestone by commencing the bulk sampling mining operation at the Coscuez emerald mine within eight weeks of the completing the acquisition of the mine. The initial production of 1,720 carats of emeralds, including 826 carats of top quality emeralds, during the early stage of the program further confirms the quality of the Coscuez emerald mine. We will continue to build our geological knowledge of the license area and also strive to modernize the Coscuez emerald mine. Fura has now become the first publicly listed company in the world to commence a bulk sampling operation in Colombia, the world’s largest supplier of emeralds. We have also entered into agreements to acquire four Ruby licences in Mozambique and have started with the exploration process and will soon be coming up with more details on that. Fura Gems owns 80% effective interest in these Ruby licenses.”

About the Colombia Emerald Mine:

The Coscuez Emerald Mine license covers an area of 46 hectares and includes exclusive rights for the exploration, construction and mining of emerald deposits granted by the Government of the Republic of Colombia.  The Coscuez Emerald Mine is located within the area historically known as the “Coscuez Mine” in the municipality of San Pablo de Borbur, Department of Boyacá.

About the Mozambique mines:

The four Ruby assets are strategically located in the Montepuez District and are 394.24 sq.km (39,424.51 hectares in five concessions) of highly prospective ground. The initial findings from the existing artisanal pits show both primary and secondary mineralisation with higher and lower quality rubies.

About Fura Gems Inc.:

Fura Gems Inc. is a gemstone mining and marketing company, which is engaged in the mining, exploration and acquisition of gemstone licences. Fura’s headquarters are located in Toronto, Canada and its administrative headquarters are located in the Almas Tower, Dubai. Fura is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol “FURA”. Fura is engaged in the exploration of resource properties in Colombia and owns a 76% interest the Coscuez emerald mine in Boyacá, Colombia and a 100% interest in the emerald licence ECH -121. Fura is involved in the exploration and mining of rubies in Mozambique through its 80% effective interest in the four ruby licences (4392, 3868, 3869 and 6811) that it acquired in November 2017.