After a difficult patch, Gemfields PLC (JSE:GML) has drawn a line under last year’s disappointing emerald sale.
The miner reported revenues of $32 million from its latest higher-quality emerald auction in Bangkok, with all 38 lots sold, including the 11,685 carat “Imboo” stone, also known as the buffalo gemstone.
The average price hit $160.78 a carat across 199,000 carats sold, comfortably ahead of Panmure Liberum’s estimate of $21 million.
It marks a return to form after November’s weak auction, when a rival miner disrupted the market and only 70 per cent of stones found buyers.
Price comparisons between auctions are rarely straightforward, given differences in colour, clarity and size, but the $160.78 a carat achieved this time is back to the levels seen in 2023 and early 2024, when sales totalled $43.7 million at $165.55 a carat and $35 million at $167.51 a carat.
The fact that every lot sold is itself encouraging.
Management was upbeat. Adrian Banks, managing director of product and sales, said: “While the wider market continues to navigate mixed sentiment and tariff uncertainty, today’s auction result has validated these decisions [temporarily stopping mining due to the oversupplied market] and delivered a highly positive outcome. Strong demand was evident across the grades, with robust prices achieved.”
Kagem, Gemfields’ flagship emerald mine in Zambia, depends heavily on these higher-quality auctions, which typically make up more than 60% of its revenue.
In turn, Kagem represents around a fifth of Gemfields’ valuation, Panmure Liberum notes. The bigger growth story lies in rubies, with expansion at the Montepuez Ruby Mine in Mozambique expected to take earnings leadership as production ramps up.
Panmure Liberum has kept its “buy” recommendation on the shares, with a target price of 15p unchanged.
The broker argues that while tariffs and shifting sentiment still weigh on the backdrop, the latest sale demonstrates that demand remains resilient for top-quality stones.