Gemfields has realised $25.4 million in revenue from its final commercial-quality rough emerald auction of 2025, held from November to December.
This strong result follows a difficult operational year marked by a temporary suspension of mining at its flagship Kagem mine in Zambia during the first half.
The auction, conducted through private viewings in Jaipur, India, and a subsequent online sealed-bid process, offered 46 lots of rough emeralds.
The company sold 45 lots, representing 98% of the offering.
From nearly 3.66 million carats made available, about 3.41 million carats were sold at an average price of $7.46 per carat.
Gemfields' managing director of product and sales, Adrian Banks, said the auction concludes a challenging year on a positive note.
“Today’s auction results mark a successful conclusion to a challenging year for Kagem,” he said.
“Following the temporary suspension of mining operations during the first half, the business has nonetheless delivered a strong performance for 2025, culminating in this auction’s solid contribution to $79 million of total Kagem auction revenues for 2025.”
Banks said that the firm pricing across all quality categories indicates the market pressures seen in late 2024 and early 2025 have largely subsided.
He said that strengthened market sentiment and sustained demand since the third quarter have continued to support sales performance.
Gemfields clarified that auction results are not directly comparable across cycles, as the mix of gems varies with mine output and market demand.
It also reported that Kagem’s 53 auctions since July 2009 have now generated a cumulative $1.15 billion in total revenue.
Recent auction results for commercial-quality emeralds include $25.5 million at $7.51 per carat in August-September 2023; $17.1 million at $4.45 per carat in March 2024; $10.8 million at $4.47 per carat in August-September 2024; and $16.4 million at $6.87 per carat in April 2025.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor-In-Chief, Rough & Polished
