Gemfields announces sale of €5 mln of gems in Thailand auction

Gemfields, the majority shareholder of the company that explores rubies in northern Mozambique (Montepuez Ruby Mining), has announced it raised US$4.2 million (€5 million) at an auction of commercial stones extracted in Cabo Delgado.
The auction took place in Bangkok, the Thai capital, between 19 and 23 September, with stones such as sapphires, corundums and rubies being sold, Gemfields said in a statement. The rubies auctioned came from the company’s concession in the district of Montepuez, Cabo Delgado province, northern Mozambique, and the stones auctioned are of ‘premium’, high and medium quality.
Ruby mining
“The buoyant conditions prevailing in the coloured gem market made this an excellent time to sell several years of MRM’s accumulated commercial grade stock,” said Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ sales director, quoted in the document.
Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) has around 34,000 hectares of concession for ruby mining in Cabo Delgado and is the main investor in ruby mining in Mozambique. It is 75% owned by the Gemfields group and 25% by Mozambican Mwiriti Limitada. Since January 2011, Montepuez Ruby Mining’s sales account for 94% of the country’s cash flows of emeralds, rubies and sapphires, according to the company.