Gemfields Sees Improved Demand in Mini Auction for Unsold Kagem Emeralds
Gemfields recently held a mini auction to sell emeralds from its Kagem mine in Zambia, which remained unsold from a previous sale due to competition from another producer offering similar goods at lower prices.
Between February 19 and 21, the company generated $4.8 million from the sale of 45,864 carats, it announced on Monday. Of the 13 lots offered, 10 were sold, achieving an average price of $105 per carat.
In November, Gemfields had put 43 lots up for sale but managed to sell only 30, marking its weakest emerald auction result in over two years. The company also withheld some lots at the time due to strong competition from Grizzly Mining.
Despite a sluggish market, demand and pricing have shown improvement in recent months.
“The auction consisted solely of unsold lots from Kagem’s November 2024 higher-quality emerald auction,” said Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ managing director of product and sales. “The composition of the schedules on offer remained unchanged, allowing us a rare opportunity to directly compare demand and pricing across two auctions.
It was encouraging to receive significantly higher bids, resulting in 10 of the 13 unsold lots being successfully sold. While market sentiment remains subdued, the improvement in both demand and pricing is promising.”
The prolonged weak pricing environment has impacted Gemfields’ financial performance, leading the company to suspend several operations, including Kagem, for up to six months while exploring the sale of other ventures.
