Coloured gems specialist Gemfields (LON:GEM) has completed the acquisition of controlling interests in two additional ruby deposits in Mozambique.
Gemfields first announced its plans to acquire the interests just over two years ago and the conditions of the agreement have now been satisfied.
The licences, valid for an initial period of 25 years, were formally issued by the Mozambican government on 22 September 2014 and 12 November 2014 respectively to a new company, Megaruma Mining, in which Gemfields is a 75% shareholder.
The two licences, which do not border on one another, each share a boundary with Gemfields' existing 75% owned Montepuez ruby deposit, in the Montepuez district of the Cabo Delgado province, and cover around 19,000 hectares and 15,000 hectares respectively.
Gemfields is best known for its emeralds, produced at the Kagem mine in Zambia, but it recently enjoyed sparkling results at its ruby auction in Singapore, with the average realised price of US$689 per carat the highest ever achieved at any Gemfields auction.
The company is keen to expand and develop its Mozambique ruby operations and the acquisition of the Megaruma licences provides a quick way of doing this.
Megaruma Mining is paying US$3.5mln for the licences, the bulk of which will be settled by Gemfields. The vendor holds 25% in Megaruma Mining.
"We are delighted to announce the completion of this transaction, which encapsulates our great confidence in future global demand for Mozambican rubies, just as our stellar Singapore auction results did last week, and our belief in the significance of the ruby deposits in this area,” said Ian Harebottle, chief executive officer of Gemfields.
“We look forward to working with all our stakeholders in Mozambique in creating the world's pre-eminent ruby supply source," he added.