Gemfields (LON:GEM) has reported its highest quarterly production with 12.8 million carats of emerald and beryl in the first quarter of the current financial year.
This result represents around 74 percent of last year’s total production.
The company stressed however that this exceptional level of production is unlikely to continue, due to the ‘pockety’ or ‘nuggety’ nature of coloured gemstone deposits.
"Kagem has delivered a record-shattering production quarter and we're simply delighted,” chief executive Ian Harebottle said.
He added: “We are thrilled with the strong platform that these results provide and look forward to the forthcoming auction of higher grade rough emeralds, “which will be further supported by the continuing improvement in the markets for coloured gemstones."
The company will hold its next auction of higher grade rough emerald in December.
Gemfield’s 75 percent owned Kagem mine is the largest emerald mine in the world and this latest set of production figures show a sharp increase in production.
In the three months ended 30 September 2010, Gemfields produced 12.8 million carats of emerald and beryl.
Notably it produced more emeralds over the three month period, than in the whole of the preceding 12 months.
Also grades were more than twice that of the preceding quarter, at 668 carats per tonne (cpt) compared to 323cpt.
This in turn led to the lowest quarterly unit production costs on record. The company reported unit production costs of US$0.26 per carat, which is substantially less than the US$0.73 reported for the whole of the preceding 12 month period.
Gemfields is currently carrying out a trial underground mining project.
In the three month period, it advanced 18.7 metres with 22 blasts, this takes the total underground development to 95.3 metres.
Around 629 tonnes of rock, containing 581 tonnes of ore, was produced during the quarter compared to just 347 tonnes of rock and 56 tonnes of ore in the preceding three months.