Ruby auction achieves “stellar result”

Gemfields’ 13th auction of rough rubies from Montepuez closed on 14 December 2019 in Singapore generated a revenue of US$71.5 million, making an aggregate revenue of US$584.1 million from all 13 auctions since June 2014.

The latest auction of high, medium and commercial grade rough rubies saw 53 companies placing bids. Of the 1,158,114 carats on offer, 80 percent or 927,130 carats were sold; of the 104 lots offered, 91 lots or 88 percent were sold. The sale achieved an average realised price of US$77.12 per carat.

The proceeds of the auction will be fully repatriated to Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada (MRM) in Mozambique.

Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ managing director of product and sales, said: “Our latest ruby auction in Singapore has delivered another stellar result for Mozambican rubies, with both demand and pricing clearly robust. We are particularly pleased to have seen such a diverse spread of winners, with 37 companies taking home at least one lot. The auction, our second biggest by value to date, means that Gemfields’ annual revenues from ruby and emerald auctions has for the first time exceeded US$200 million.

“The auction marked a further milestone in that 12 prominent lots from this auction have become the first Gemfields rubies ever to pioneer the use of blockchain in facilitating improved supply chain traceability. The winners are therefore able to validate the route to market via the Provenance Proof Blockchain established by the Gübelin Gem Lab of Switzerland.”

London-based Gemfields is the world’s leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones operating the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique, while having other mining activities in Ethiopia and Madagascar. (Photo courtesy: Gemfields)

Results of five most recent MRM auctions

 Source: Gemfields