News Bureau

Lusaka Emerald Auction bags $22.3mn

Gemfields announces the results of its auction of predominantly higher quality rough emerald extracted by Kagem Mining was held in Lusaka, Zambia. The Emerald Auction generated revenues of USD 22.3 million at average per carat sales value of USD 63.61 which remained third highest to date.

About 349,935 carats were sold which was 84% by weight and 95% by value of the total lot of the 417,060 carats offered. 24 Kagem auctions held since July 2009 have generated USD 459 million in total revenues.

As a consequence of the new demonetisation programme implemented in India, the Company's emerald customers have experienced short term financial liquidity constraints. As a result, Gemfields decided to delay its auction scheduled for December 2016 until February 2017 and reduce the overall value and volume of carats offered for sale at the auction.

The auction saw 417,060 carats of higher quality emerald extracted from Kagem placed on offer, with 349,935 carats being sold. A total of 33 companies placed bids at the auction. 17 of the 19 lots offered were sold, generating auction revenues of USD 22.3 million. The auction realised a robust overall average value of USD 63.61 per carat.

The Company's 24 auctions of emeralds and beryl mined at Kagem since July 2009 have generated USD 459 million in total revenues. The specific auction mix and the exact quality of the lots offered at each auction vary in characteristics such as volume, size, colour and clarity on account of variations in mined production and market demand.

Each auction naturally contains a degree of variation in overall quality composition, which is typically reflected in the average per carat sales value and means that the results of each auction are not always directly comparable. Gemfields' next emerald auction is expected to take place before the end of June 2017, comprising predominantly of commercial quality emeralds from the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia.

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