JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Gemfields has generated gross revenue of $8.5-million from a recent rough emerald auction in Jaipur, India, at which the gemstone miner realised an average price of $58/ct – the highest price achieved thus far by the company at any auction.

Of the 29 lots offered at the auction, 17 were sold, representing about 145 952 ct, or 96%, of the market value.

The company said upbeat market conditions underpinned robust prices for the higher-quality emeralds on offer at the auction, which was held from September 26 to 30 and which saw 42 companies attending and 38 placing at least one bid.

The emeralds sold comprised gems obtained by Gemfields in the open market from various sources, some of which had previously been offered at prior international auctions, alongside the company's directly mined goods.

As such, the material sold at the auction did not include emerald or beryl mined, processed, graded and exported by, or belonging to, the 75% Gemfields-owned Kagem Mining.

CEO Ian Harebottle said that, as the company had been committed to the consolidation and formalisation of the coloured gemstone industry for some time, the results achieved at the auction supported its view of the advantages derived from being able to deliver gems from various sources.

“Having offered traded emeralds and beryl alongside Kagem's regular production at our auctions for two years, we have now completed our first standalone auction of traded material, which has been obtained over a period of time from multiple sources.

“The favourable outcome of the recent auction demonstrates the value and capability of the international auction platform we have developed during the last five years,” he said in a statement.

Gemfields first offered traded emeralds at an auction in Singapore in July 2011, which were offered alongside the material mined, processed, graded and exported by or belonging to Kagem.

Traded emeralds and beryl were also offered at subsequent Gemfields auctions in Jaipur and Singapore throughout 2011 and 2012.

Despite the record result, Gemfields cautioned that the specific auction mix and the quality characteristics of the lots offered at the traded auction could vary quite considerably from those auctions made up solely of lots derived from Kagem's mined production.

“As a result, direct comparisons between the auctions cannot be drawn,” the miner noted.

Gemfields' next auction of mined, predominantly lower-quality emerald and beryl is scheduled to take place in Lusaka, Zambia, in November, and will exclusively comprise material mined, processed, graded and owned by Kagem.