London: Gemfields has announced the results of an auction of rough rubies held in Singapore from 5 – 9 June 2018. The rough rubies were extracted from the licence held and operated by Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada (“MRM”), which is 75% owned by Gemfields and 25% by local partner Mwiriti Limitada.

Highlights – Ruby Auction:

• Auction revenues of USD 71.8 million, an all-time Gemfields auction record;
• Of the 86 lots offered, 82 were sold (95%);
• Average price of USD 122 per carat, a new record for Gemfields’ mixed quality ruby auctions;
• 588,656 carats sold out of the 629,893 carats offered (93%); and
• The ten Gemflelds auctions of MRM rubies held since June 2014 have generated USD 407 million in aggregate revenues.

Gemfields’ tenth auction of rough rubies from Montepuez saw 51 companies placing bids. The auction offered high, medium and commercial grade rough rubies exclusively in untreated form.

The consistency of supply and the reliability of the Gemfields’ grading system continues to be well received by buyers given that it reduces risk, improves manufacturing efficiencies and aids their ability to meet demand for larger orders.

The auction generated total revenues of USD 71.8 million at an average realised price of USD 122 per carat. The proceeds of this auction will be fully repatriated to MRM in Mozambique, with the production tax due to the Government of Mozambique being paid on the full sales price achieved at the auction.

The specific auction mix and quality composition of the lots offered at each auction vary in characteristics such as size, colour and clarity on account of variations in mined production and market demand. Therefore, the results of each auction are not always directly comparable.

On a quality-for-quality basis however, the per carat prices demonstrated particularly strong demand.

The auction results, which saw 82 of the 86 lots offered being sold, provided a high level of comfort in respect of Gemfields’ understanding of the current market demand profile, which was further supported by customer feedback received during the auction.

Sean Gilbertson, CEO of Gemfields, commented, “The health of market demand for Mozambican rubies mined by MRM and marketed by Gemfields is amply demonstrated by these record-breaking auction results. We thank our customers for their support and assure them in turn of our support in marketing and promoting Mozambican rubies and Zambian emeralds.

MRM has been the largest tax payer in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province for the last three years, and this auction puts us on track to repeat that achievement in the 2018 calendar year, and to expand our community and conservation initiatives.

As always, we thank our Mozambican partners, Mwiriti Limitada, and our host government – the Republic of Mozambique – for their vision and support in building and internationalising the Mozambican gemstone sector by promoting transparent and globally-competitive practices. Special gratitude goes to the teams at MRM and Gemfields for their passion and hard work – this auction outcome would not have been possible without them.”