Gemfields held a mini auction to sell emeralds from its Kagem mine in Zambia that had not found buyers at a previous sale due to direct competition with another producer that was offering similar goods for lower prices.
The company garnered $4.8 million from the sale 45,864 carats between February 19 and 21, it said Monday. In total, the miner sold 10 of the 13 lots it offered, with the average price coming to $105 per carat.
In November, Gemfields offered 43 lots, of which only 30 sold, representing the company’s lowest emerald-sale result in more than two years. At the time, it noted it also held back some lots because of strong competition with Grizzly Mining.
However, the company has seen improvement in demand and pricing over the past three months, despite the still-weak market.
“The auction was solely comprised of unsold lots from Kagem’s November 2024 higher-quality emerald auction,” said Adrian Banks, managing director of product and sales at Gemfields. “The composition of the schedules on offer remained unchanged, providing Gemfields with a rare opportunity to directly compare demand and pricing between two auctions. It was pleasing to receive notable higher bids, resulting in 10 of the 13 unsold lots being successfully sold in this auction. Although market sentiment remains clearly subdued, it is encouraging to see improvement in both demand and pricing.”
The weak pricing environment has dented the miner’s bottom line, with the company halting several operations, including Kagem, for up to six months and looking to sell other ventures.
Image: Rough emeralds. (Gemfields)
