16th Jun 2025 11:12
(Alliance News) - Gemfields Group Ltd on Monday reported USD31.7 million in revenue from the auction of mixed-quality rubies in June, down from GBP68.7 million in the same month of 2024.
The London-based mining firm extracts and sells coloured gemstones. Between June 2 and June 13, Gemfields held the smallest auction to-date of stones from its Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique. The 34,966-hectare site is 75%-owned by Gemfields, which described it as "the most significant recently discovered ruby deposit in the world".
Stones from a newer area of Montepuez were included in the auction, and "were generally well-received" despite their different traits, the firm said. One 36-carat ruby sold for the the third-highest price of any single-stone lot produced by the mine.
Carats sold totalled 68,705, just over two-thirds of the 99,830 carats on auction, at an average price per carat of USD461.48. Out of 90 lots, 78 were sold, the firm said.
The unsold higher weight, lower quality rubies skewed the average price calculation, Gemfields claimed, as did a mini-auction in April of smaller stones which would normally have been part of the June offering.
Proceeds from the mini-auction are estimated at USD7.2 million.
"While this was our smallest mixed-quality ruby offering by weight to date, and there is clearly ongoing instability in the market stemming from, inter alia, ongoing geo-political turbulence, China's economic difficulties and considerable tariff uncertainty, today's auction result demonstrated the resilience of rubies in turbulent times," commented Adriak Banks, the firm's managing director of products and sales.
"Demand and pricing for fine-quality rubies remain strong."
Gemfields shares were up 6.6% at 4.47p each on Monday morning in London, and closed up 6.4% at ZAR1.17 on Friday in Johannesburg.
By Holly Munks, Alliance News reporter
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