JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Despite reporting lower year-on-year emerald and beryl production in the three months to March 31, Gemfields CEO Ian Harebottle said the company had “another pleasing quarter of solid production across its emerald and ruby operations”.
He noted that both its 75%-owned Kagem and Montepuez operations had maintained the momentum seen over the previous calendar year and were well on track to meet full-year guidance.
“At Kagem, this has been aided by an increase in both its processing efficiency and capacity following upgrades to the wash plant, while a shift in mining focus has supported Montepuez’s results as it begins to implement some of its longer-term capacity building initiatives,” said Harebottle.
The Kagem mine, in Zambia, produced 7.1-million carats of emerald and beryl in the quarter ended March 31 – the third quarter of Gemfields’ financial year – compared with the 9.9-million carats produced in the March 2015 quarter.
Gemfields attributed the difference to a higher-grade zone having been mined in the March 2015 quarter, when an average grade of 355 ct/t was achieved, compared with the average grade of 297 ct/t in the quarter under review.
Meanwhile, the Montepuez mine, in Mozambique, produced two-million carats of ruby and corundum in the three months under review, compared with 1.4-million carats in the prior comparative period.
The average grade was 30 ct/t in the quarter under review, compared with 18 ct/t in the March 2015 quarter.
SALES
Gemfields’ latest auction of higher-quality rough emerald, in Lusaka, between March 30 and April 3, generated revenue of $33.1-million at an average value of $70.68/ct.
This brought the revenue generated from auctions to date in the 2016 financial year to $116-million.
“The coloured gemstone market remains robust, as is evident from Gemfields’ auction results, and is further supported by improving consumer demand within the US,” commented Harebottle.