Gemfields Group's share price rises after successful emerald auction

 The share price of Gemfields Group, the JSE-listed miner of valuable coloured stones, shot up 0.5% on Friday afternoon after the company said a decision to reopen its Kagem mine had been vindicated by a successful emerald auction.

The company announced that 38 lots of high-quality emeralds were offered for sale at an auction between August 25 and September 11, all of which were sold. The share price traded at R1.50 on the JSE, with the higher price providing a meaningful respite considering it traded at R2.77 a year previously.

Total revenues of $32 million were realised at the auction. The average realised price was $160.78 per carat. The group has generated over $1.12 billion in revenues through the 52 auctions of Kagem gemstones held since July 2009.

Gemfields owns 75% of the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, and the Zambian government owns 25% through its Industrial Development Corporation.

Gemfields said the latest auction included an “exceptional” gemstone named Imboo (buffalo), weighing 11 685 carats. Imboo is the latest, and largest, remarkable gemstone discovered at the Kagem mine.

"This September auction marks Kagem's first high-quality emerald sale since the disappointing result in November 2023. Mining operations at Kagem were suspended in January 2025 in response to market uncertainty and challenges relating to the oversupply of Zambian emeralds. Following signs of recovery at the April commercial-quality auction, two mining points were reopened at Kagem in May,” said Gemfields’ MD of Product & Sales, Adrian Banks, in a statement.

He said that while the wider market was navigating mixed sentiment and tariff uncertainty, the auction result had validated these decisions at the mine and had delivered a “highly positive outcome”.

“Strong demand was evident across the grades, with robust prices achieved,” said Banks.

The auction lots were made available for private, in-person viewings by customers in Bangkok. Following the viewings, the auctions took place via an online auction platform adapted for Gemfields and which permitted customers from multiple jurisdictions to participate in a sealed-bid process.

The proceeds of the auction would be fully repatriated to Kagem in Zambia, with all royalties due to the Zambian government to be paid on the full sales prices at the auction.

Gemfields also operates a ruby mine in Mozambique and holds controlling interests in various other gemstone mining and prospecting licences in Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Madagascar.

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