Editor’s Note
This report details the results of Gemfields’ recent rough ruby auction in Bangkok, which generated $7.2 million in revenue. The figures provide a snapshot of current market demand and pricing for this category of gemstones.
London—Gemfields announced its latest rough ruby auction, which took place April 21-25 in Bangkok, Thailand, brought in $7.2 million.
At the sale, 73 percent of the 250,004 carats on offer sold, and the average price per carat was $39.47.
The miner said its April sale featured a mix of commercial-quality primary rubies and secondary rubies of varying quality.
Of the 21 lots offered, one lot remained unsold, Gemfields said. The lot was a 13.6 kg parcel of L2-quality gemstones weighing between 0.05 and 0.09 grams, or about 0.25 to 0.45 carats. The miner said it was expected to yield small, mixed-color sapphires after cutting and polishing. The lot was the largest by weight, accounting for 27 percent of the total carat weight offered at the auction.
Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada (MRM), which is 75 percent owned by Gemfields and 25 percent by Mozambican partner Mwiriti Limitada, mined the gemstones from the Montepuez mine in Mozambique.
The proceeds of the auction will be fully repatriated to MRM in Mozambique, with all royalties due to the Mozambican government paid on the full sales price achieved at the auction.
