The rough ruby auction held by London-based Gemfields plc from 3 to 8 December 2014 in Singapore fetched a total of US$43.3 million (US$689 per carat), the highest ever achieved total and carat price at any Gemfields auction.
Predominant at the auction were higher quality untreated goods extracted by Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada (in which Gemfields have a 75-percent interest) from the Montepuez ruby deposit in Mozambique.
A total of 50 companies from a more diversified origins namely Austria, China, Germany, India, Israel, Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States attended the auction. Seventy-four percent or 62,936 carats of rough ruby were sold.
The 40.23-carat rough ruby, dubbed the ‘Rhino Ruby’, was successfully sold for an undisclosed price. In recognition of the successful sale of the ruby, Gemfields has committed to supporting the anti-rhino-poaching aircraft operated by Game Reserves United, thereby contributing a material proportion of its flying costs for the 2015 calendar year.
The next Gemfields auction of material from Montepuez will be mainly lower quality ruby and corundum and is expected to be held before July 2015.
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