JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – An auction of higher-quality rough emeralds held by JSE-listed Pallinghurst subsidiary, Gemfields, has generated revenues of $21.5-million.
The auction saw 36 companies placing bids with a strong overall average value of $66.21/ct, the second-highest per carat price achieved by Gemfields’ Zambia-based Kagem mine to date.
“I am very pleased with the results of this auction. It was, by weight, the smallest auction of Kagem higher-quality emeralds to date, because of the reduced production experienced over the past 12 months,” noted Gemfields CEO Sean Gilbertson.
The coloured, translucent, 6 100 ct Insofu emerald, mined by Kagem in February 2010, was bought at the auction by high-value gem specialist Dia-Color.
The auction also saw the inaugural commercial deployment of the nano-particle “paternity testing” technology developed Swiss laboratory Gubelin.
The nano-particles, carrying a form of synthetic DNA, which tags the emeralds as having been mined at Kagem, allows for identification of the mine-of-origin for decades to come, providing unparalleled traceability.
All emeralds on offer at the auction were sold.