London-based mining company Gemfields announced on Wednesday that it raised 69.5 million US dollars from an auction of rough rubies of mixed quality held between November 29 and December 5 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The gems were mined in the province of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique, by Montepuez Ruby Mining Limitada (MRM), which is 75 percent owned by Gemfields and 25 percent by its Mozambican partner, Mwiriti Limitada.

During the auction, 97 lots were sold, totaling 239,591 carats, at an average price of 290.02 dollars per carat. MRM's total ruby sales in 21 auctions since 2014 thus amount to 1.049 billion dollars.

In a statement, the company stresses that "the proceeds of this auction will be fully repatriated to MRM in Mozambique, with all royalties due to the government of the Republic of Mozambique being paid on the total sales prices achieved in the auction".

According to Adrian Banks, General Manager of Products and Sales at Gemfields, "over the last few years, the prices of rubies at our auctions have been rising steadily and our final auction of 2023 confirmed this trend. This auction demonstrated that demand and prices for rough rubies are definitely healthy."

He added that "the total revenue from the Gemfields auction for 2023 is 242 million dollars, the second highest in our history".

Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) holds a 25-year concession on an area of 340 square kilometers in Montepuez. (AIM)