London-listed Gemfields Group recorded total auction revenues of $68.7-million from the June auction of mixed-quality rough rubies recovered from the Montepuez ruby mine, in Mozambique.

The group reports that 94 of the 97 lots offered for sale in the June auction - comprising 217 044 ct - were sold (97%).

An average price of $316.95/ct was realised.

The rough rubies were extracted by Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM), which is 75%-owned by Gemfields and 25% by its Mozambican partner Mwiriti.

The proceeds of the auction will be fully repatriated to MRM in Mozambique, with all royalties due to the government of Mozambique being paid on the full sales price achieved at the auction, Gemfields points out.

The 22 auctions of MRM gemstones held since June 2014 have now generated $1.12-billion in total revenue, the company highlights.

“This auction marks the tenth anniversary of Gemfields’ first auction in June 2014 of rubies from the Montepuez mine. We are pleased to announce another strong result demonstrating the confidence that loyal customers have in our product offering and auction platform. While auction results should not be directly compared, our team is proud to have crossed the milestone of an average selling price of $300/ct at this auction,” Gemfields products and sales MD Adrian Banks says.

“While the industry is currently facing some headwinds, arising in part from a softening in China, we hope this result provides good comfort to other stakeholders in our sector. As always, our thanks and appreciation go out to the hardworking team at MRM, our partners Mwiriti and the government of Mozambique, whose support makes these results and achievements possible,” he adds.

The auction lots were made available in Bangkok for private, in-person viewings by customers. 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.