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GEMFIELDS GROUP LIMITED - Ruby Auction Results

Release Date: 08/04/2021 17:18
Code(s): GML     PDF:  
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Ruby Auction Results

Gemfields Group Limited                         
Incorporated in Guernsey. Guernsey registration Number: 47656.
South African external company registration number 2009/012636/10
Share code on JSE:GML / AIM:GEM
ISIN: GG00BG0KTL52 | LEI: 21380017GAVXTCYS5R31
("Gemfields" or the "Company")



Ruby Auction Results

LONDON, 8 APRIL 2021


Gemfields is pleased to announce the results of a ruby auction comprising a series of seven sequential mini-
auctions held during the period 15 March – 8 April 2021. The auction contained a selection of grades that
are typically offered at Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada’s (“MRM”) auctions of mixed quality rubies.
Selected lots were made available for in-person and private viewings by customers in Bangkok, Dubai and
Jaipur. Following the viewings, the auctions took place via an online auction platform specifically adapted
for Gemfields and which permitted customers from multiple jurisdictions to participate in a sealed-bid
process.

Operations at MRM were suspended in April 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and remained
suspended until March 2021 in order to preserve cash during difficult market conditions. It is expected that
mining operations at MRM will ramp back up to full-scale by the end of April 2021.

The rough rubies sold at the auction were all extracted, prior to April 2020, from the mining licence held
and operated by MRM (which is 75% owned by Gemfields and 25% by local partner Mwiriti Limitada).

Highlights – March & April 2021 Ruby Auction

    -   Operations at the MRM ruby mine were suspended from April 2020 to March 2021
    -   All rubies sold at this auction were mined prior to April 2020
    -   Total auction revenues of USD 58.9 million, the third highest auction result to date
    -   Average price of USD 171.33 per carat
    -   Of the 94 lots offered, 89 were sold (95%)
    -   47% of the carats offered at the auction were sold

The auction saw 52 companies placing bids and generating total revenues of USD 58.9 million with an
overall average value of USD 171.33 per carat. The auction saw 95% of the number of lots, and 47% of the
offered carats, being sold.

The results of the five most recent mixed quality ruby auctions are summarised in the table below (and
earlier results are available at www.gemfieldsgroup.com):




        Gemfields Group Limited, Royal Chambers, St Julian’s Avenue, St Peter Port, GY1 4HP, Guernsey
                                          T +44 (0)1481 731 554
                                             gemfieldsgroup.com
  AUCTION                                                                                          Mar-Apr ‘21
  RESULTS               Jun ‘18            Dec ‘18            Jun ‘19            Dec ‘19            AUCTION
   (RUBY &             AUCTION            AUCTION            AUCTION            AUCTION            (7 sequential
 CORUNDUM)                                                                                         mini-auctions)

                          5-9 Jun          10-14 Dec         11-15 Jun           10-14 Dec        15 Mar – 8 Apr
      Dates                2018               2018              2019                2019               2021
     Location           Singapore          Singapore         Singapore           Singapore        Various/Online
                       Rough Ruby         Rough Ruby        Rough Ruby          Rough Ruby         Rough Ruby
                         (Higher,           (Higher,          (Higher,            (Higher,           (Higher,
                       Medium and         Medium and        Medium and          Medium and         Medium and
       Type            Commercial         Commercial        Commercial          Commercial         Commercial
                       Quality), no       Quality), no      Quality), no        Quality), no       Quality), no
                        Corundum           Corundum          Corundum            Corundum           Corundum
Carats offered           629,893            685,363           978,197            1,158,114            726,610
Carats sold              588,656            655,623           962,211             927,130             343,952

No. of lots offered           86               90                90                 104                  94
No. of lots sold              82               88                84                  91                  89
Percentage of lots           95%              98%               93%                 88%                 95%
sold
Percentage of lots           93%              96%               98%                 80%                *47%
sold by weight
Total sales realised    USD 71.8           USD 55.3           USD 50.0            USD 71.5           USD 58.9
at auction               million            million            million             million            million
Average per carat      USD 122.03            USD                USD                 USD                USD
sales value              /carat           84.32/carat        51.99/carat         77.12/carat        171.33/carat

   (*) Specific attention is drawn to the fact that one lot of 76,343 grams (representing some 53% of the total
   weight offered) remained unsold at the most recent auction. As a result, the average price per carat realised
   at the most recent auction is considerably higher than it would have been had this lot also been sold. The
   specific auction mix and quality composition of the lots offered at each auction vary in characteristics such
   as size, colour and clarity on account of variations in mined production and market demand. Therefore, the
   results of each auction are not always directly comparable.

   As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, MRM realised no revenue in 2020. Nonetheless, no redundancies
   have been made at MRM since the outbreak of the pandemic and the circa 1,400 jobs provided by MRM
   have been protected during what is a critical time for the province of Cabo Delgado, where MRM is based.
   Today’s ruby auction result provides much-needed income for the ongoing protection of those jobs and the
   many families that depend on the associated salaries. The auction also brings essential tax income for
   Mozambique at a time when the province of Cabo Delgado is in dire need of support. To date,
   approximately 23% of MRM’s aggregate revenues have been paid to the Government of Mozambique in
   the form of mineral royalty and corporation tax. MRM has been the largest taxpayer in the Cabo Delgado
   province in each of the six years from 2014 to 2019.

   MRM, located some 280km (as the crow flies) from the town of Palma, continues to closely monitor
   developments relating to the insurgency in Cabo Delgado. The insurgency has displaced an estimated
   700,000 persons. MRM is liaising with the provincial and central governments about expanding the
   humanitarian relief MRM provides. MRM and Gemfields join all those affected by the insurgency in seeking
   the restoration of peace, safety and food security in the region.


Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ Managing Director of Product & Sales, commented:

“This auction, made up of seven sequential mini-auctions, has yielded the third highest revenue figure of the fourteen auctions
which MRM has run since June 2014. We are very encouraged by the strong appetite from our clients and by the prices realised.

As a result of the fall-out from the Covid-19 pandemic, this auction was also our first since December 2019, meaning we
realised no sales at all for some 15 months. Because operations were suspended at MRM in April 2020, the world’s largest
ruby mine produced no new rubies for almost a year, with mining only now recommencing. Due to the arising supply and
demand dynamics, a number of our clients have therefore seen this auction as a vital opportunity to purchase rubies, particularly
given that MRM is only now commencing mining for its next mixed-quality ruby auction, which we hope will occur late this
year.

We’re truly delighted to be back in business after the lengthy pause in both mining and sales and we extend our heartfelt thanks
to our hard-working teams, our host government and our clients for their ongoing support.”


                                                           -ENDS-




                       Further information on Gemfields Group Limited can be found at:
                                                  GEMFIELDSGROUP.COM




                                    To join our investor mailing list, contact us on:
                                           companysecretary@gemfields.com


                                     For any press enquiries please contact us on:
                                                gemfields@camarco.co.uk




ENQUIRIES




 GEMFIELDS
                                  Sean Gilbertson / David Lovett / Mark Lawrie
                                  T: +44(0) 20 7518 3400


 SPONSOR (JSE)
                                  Investec Bank Limited


 SEDIBELO SALE PROCESS
                                  Liberum
                                  Nehal Patel
                                  T: +44(0) 20 3100 2222


 NOMINATED ADVISER
                                  finnCap
 (AIM) & JOINT BROKER
                                  Christopher Raggett / Tim Redfern / Edward Whiley
                                  T: +44(0) 20 7220 0500


 JOINT BROKER
                                  Liberum
                                  Clayton Bush / Scott Mathieson / Kane Collings
                                  T: +44(0) 20 3100 2222


 FINANCIAL PR/ IR
                                  Camarco
                                  Gordon Poole / Nick Hennis
                                  T: +44(0) 20 3757 4980




ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON GEMFIELDS




Gemfields is a world-leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones. Gemfields is the operator
and 75% owner of both the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia (believed to be the world’s single largest
producing emerald mine) and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique (one of the most significant
recently discovered ruby deposits in the world). In addition, Gemfields also holds controlling interests in
various other gemstone mining and prospecting licenses in Zambia, Mozambique, Ethiopia and Madagascar.


Gemfields’ outright ownership of Fabergé - an iconic and prestigious brand of exceptional heritage - enables
Gemfields to optimise positioning, perception and consumer awareness of coloured gemstones, advancing
the wider group’s “mine and market” vision.


Gemfields has developed a proprietary grading system and a pioneering auction and trading platform to
provide a consistent supply of coloured gemstones to downstream markets, a key component of Gemfields’
business model and has played an important role in the growth of the global coloured gemstone sector.



                                                GEMFIELDS

                             GEMFIELDS.COM | INVESTORS |FOUNDATION

                             INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE




                                                 FABERGÉ

                    FABERGÉ.COM | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE




                                        KAGEM MINING LINKEDIN

                                   MONTEPUEZ RUBY MINING LINKEDIN




Date: 08-04-2021 05:18:00
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