JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Gemfields’ 75%-owned Kagem emerald mine, in Zambia, delivered 8.1-million carats of emerald and beryl in the quarter ended June 30, lifting output for the full 2015 financial year to 30.1-million carats of emerald and beryl.
This was comparable with the 6.2-million carats of emeral and beryl produced in the fourth quarter of the previous year, which boosted 2014 full-year output to 20.2-million carats of emerald and beryl.
“The 30.1-million carats of emerald and beryl produced at Kagem for the full year is the second highest level of production since Gemfields took control of Kagem in 2008 and underpins the increasing expertise we have built in the gemstone sector,” CEO Ian Harebottle said on Wednesday.
With Gemfields' next auction of predominantly higher-quality rough emerald from Kagem scheduled to take place from August 31 to September 4, Harebottle noted that market demand for coloured gemstones remained firm.
Meanwhile, the company’s 75%-owned Montepuez ruby mine, in Mozambique, produced about 700 000 ct of ruby and corundum in the quarter ended June 30, up from 200 000 ct in the comparative period.
This took full-year production to 8.4-million carats of ruby and corundum, compared with the 6.5-million carats produced in the prior year.