Aim- and JSE-listed gemstones miner Gemfields has generated total auction revenue of $17-million for a rough emeralds auction held between March 5 and 22.

The company offered 43 lots for sale, of which 40 were sold, at an average price of $4.45/ct.

Gemfields has officially generated more than $1-billion in revenue from gemstone sales originating from the Kagem mine, in Zambia, since July 2009.

Gemfields product and sales MD Adrian Banks says the commercial-quality emerald market remains in good shape and prices achieved are broadly in line with an auction held in September last year.

He explains the latest auction included large quantities of lower-quality emeralds which would normally be sold to smaller manufacturers in Jaipur through Gemfields’ direct sales channel. These parcels accounted for 55% of the auction lots by weight, resulting in the lower overall dollar-per-carat price realised at this auction.

The three unsold lots were also not typical auction grades.

Gemfields will host its next higher-quality emerald and mixed-quality ruby auctions in May and June, respectively.

Meanwhile, the company posted its second-highest yearly revenue in its history in the year ended December 31, 2023, at $262-million, despite lower production of both premium emeralds and rubies during the year, compared with 2022.

Gemfields’ adjusted headline earnings per share (HEPS) amounted to $0.015 apiece, compared with adjusted HEPS of $0.048 apiece in the prior year.

The company declared a dividend of $10-million.

Gemfields CEO Sean Gilbertson comments that the company experienced a year of achievements and challenges in 2023, having enjoyed healthy prices paid at its auctions during the year, but recording lower production from the Kagem emerald mine and Motepuez ruby mine, in Mozambique, compared with 2022.

The company had to withdraw one emerald auction from its schedule in the reporting year, which Gilbertson says negatively impacted on results for the full year.

He points out that the market for coloured gemstones shifts from year to year and while prices for emeralds and rubies remain high, they are certainly lower than the remarkable highs recorded in 2022.

Gilbertson believes there is much to be excited about as Gemfields invests in expanded processing capacity in Mozambique, as well as other developments.