By MAIMBOLWA MULIKELELA –

GEMFIELDS PLC, the owners of Kagem Mine raised US$36.5 million from last week’s auctions of higher quality emeralds in Lusaka.

A total of 34 companies attended and bid in the third auction during the current financial year of gemstones mined by Gemfields from the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia.

The auction saw 0.84 million carats of emerald and beryl extracted from Kagem placed on offer, with 15 of the 17 lots offered being sold, generating record auction revenues of US$ 36.5 million.

According to the statement issued by Gemfields plc via the London Stock Exchange, the auction yielded an overall average value of US$59.31 per carat, a 10 per cent increase on the prior record for Kagem auctions.

The market conditions for higher qualities remain robust, yielding solid increases in quality-for-quality per carat prices.

Aggregate auction revenues for the financial year-to-date which ends June 30, 2014 and inclusive of the Jaipur auction of traded emeralds – stand at US$92.9 million.

Adding a direct sale of the two lowest grades of beryl, total revenues from the sale of rough emerald and beryl have reached US$96.4 million.

As such, Gemfields has exceeded its record annual revenue figure of US$ 83.7 million, set in the year ended June 30, 2012.

Two further auctions are presently scheduled to take place before the end of the financial year including the inaugural auction for rough rubies and corundum from the Montepuez ruby deposit in Mozambique.

The statement said fifteen Kagem auctions were held since July 2009 and has since generated total revenue of US$260 million.

The latest auction from February 21-25, 2014, was the fourth auction to be held in Lusaka by the company in the last year.

The latest auction attracted 35 buyers from countries including the

United States of America, Germany, Hong Kong and India, as well as Zambia.