Former CEO and co-chairperson of diamond miner De Beers Bruce Cleaver will join the board of gemstone miner Gemfields as chairperson from July 1.

He will succeed Martin Tolcher, who is stepping down after 15 years of serving on Gemfields' board and nearly five years of serving as chairperson in order to "bolster board independence".

"I am truly delighted to have such a remarkable successor in Bruce and am confident that Gemfields will go from strength to strength under his stewardship," Tolcher says.

Johannesburg- and London-listed Gemfields says Cleaver brings considerable experience of mining gemstones in Africa and marketing them internationally.

"I am excited and enthused to take on the role of chairperson of Gemfields and look forward to working with . . . the Gemfields team as we prepare the company for its next stage of growth, including by way of the construction of a new processing plant – tripling throughput capacity – at the world's leading ruby mine, Montepuez Ruby Mining, and which is on schedule for completion during the first half of 2025.

"Gemfields is a unique and extraordinary business, one that has taken a fragmented and fairly informal industry to considerable sophistication as the first consistent supplier of significant quantities of coloured gemstones in a responsible and transparent manner. The parallels with De Beers' origins and how consistent and reliable supply can deliver remarkable industry growth and positive contributions to communities, are clear to all," Cleaver comments.

Meanwhile, Gemfields has also appointed Simon Scott as an independent nonexecutive director and Kieran Daly as a nonexecutive director, with effect from July 1.

Scott was previously CFO of platinum group metals miner Lonmin and is currently also a nonexecutive director of First Quantum Minerals and Sylvania Platinum.

Daly is MD of Assore International Holdings, which holds a 29.2% interest in Gemfields Group, as well as Assore Holdings growth and strategic development executive.

Scott succeeds Lumkile Mondi, who previously announced his intention to step down as lead independent nonexecutive director, while Daly succeeds Carel Malan, who is stepping down to focus on his now permanent position at Ore & Metal Company – a subsidiary of Assore Holdings.