Jaipur auction of low-quality rubies from Montepuez Ruby Mine

The latest auction of predominantly lower-quality ruby and corundum mined at Aim-listed Gemfields’ 75%-owned Montepuez mine, in Mozambique, has generated revenues of $16.1-million. About 40 companies attended the auction, which was held in Jaipur, India, from April 17 to 22.Auction attendees came from Austria, China, India, Israel, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the UK and the US. Of the 66 lots offered at the auction, 51 lots were offered on an untreated basis, while 15 lots were offered as having been heat-treated. All of the treated lots offered used industry-accepted treatment techniques and were offered and sold on a fully disclosed basis. Of the 4.03-million carats on offer, 3.99-million were sold, at an average realised price of $4.03/ct. The auction was also used to concurrently offer traded rough emeralds from Zambia and Brazil sourced by Gemfields on the open market. This material generated $1.6-million of gross revenues over and above the auction revenues from ruby and corundum.“This week's Jaipur auction has witnessed the next step in the evolution of the Montepuez ruby deposit's deep-seated and positive impact on the global ruby market. Customer response in the Jaipur market, where this was the first ever offering of such a considerable volume of nondomestic rough ruby has been overwhelming, as can be seen in the excellent auction results. “The five auctions we have hosted so far this financial year, three of emeralds and two of rubies, have yielded aggregate revenues of $124.4-million, a superb performance by Gemfields with credit due to every member of our devoted and hard-working team worldwide,” commented CEO Ian Harebottle.