Greenland Ruby, the owner of a sole gemstone mine in Greenland, will sell some of its operations and enter restructuring amid its inability to generate sufficient income to pay off debts.
In early 2023, the company has suspended operations at its Aappaluttoq ruby and pink sapphire mine due to underwhelming production volumes but was planning to re-open it in 2025. In addition to the mine, Greenland Ruby owns sales-oriented subsidiaries in several countries including Thailand.
According to the company’s statement cited by Rapaport News, the miner’s restructuring will include its subsidiaries in the US and France but not in Thailand. Meanwhile, the company will continue with the marketing and sales of remaining gemstones from its inventory during the restructuring process.
“Despite successful extraction and substantial investments in facilities and in the Greenlandic community, increased interest rates and inflation have made the gemstones market significantly more challenging in recent years,” Greenland Ruby CEO Arnt Eirik Rørnes said.
“The board has decided to pursue a restructuring as it still believes in Greenland Ruby and its operation in Greenland. The company holds an extraction license to one of the world’s richest ruby deposits and has developed an innovative business model by offering certified and traceable gemstones of the highest quality on a global marketplace.”
In May 2017, Greenland Ruby officially opened its ruby and pink sapphire mining operation in Aappaluttoq, in southwest Greenland, 160 kilometers south of Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. It was awarded a mining and exploration license by the Greenlandic government in 2016 and is the only gemstone mine in Greenland.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
