Gemfields generated revenue of $25 million by auctioning commercial quality rough emeralds from its 75% Kagem mine situated in Zambia.
The auction, which took place between August 29 and September 15, 2023, contained a higher than usual proportion of lower value grades.
“Given the generally lower quality and quantity of emerald production at Kagem in recent months, we announced last week the withdrawal of our auction of higher quality emeralds originally scheduled for November 2023,” said Gemfields managing director of product and sales Adrian Banks.
He said the latest auction marked the third and final Kagem auction of 2023, bringing the mine’s total auction revenues for the year to $90 million.
Banks said this was Kagem’s third best auction year ever, with 2021 yielding $92.3 million and 2022 raking in $149 million.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished