Publish Year: - Title: Gemfields Bets on Gemstone Market’s Growth Abstract: Among the emeralds, rubies and other gems offered by Gemfields is this selection of Zambian emeralds from the Kagem mine. These emeralds have been cleaned, sorted and prepped for selling at auction in Lusaka. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.

                      In late November 2014, Gemfields unveiled a 40.23 ct ruby it had just unearthed from its Montepuez ruby deposit in Mozambique. The discovery made headlines, the kind usually reserved for large diamonds.

Indeed, when Gemfields’ CEO Ian Harebottle speaks about the colored gemstone industry, the word “potential” comes up in just about every sentence. He believes that colored gemstones’ share of luxury goods sales could increase greatly around the world—potentially rivaling diamonds—if jewelry manufacturers and retailers could count on regular supplies, stable pricing, consistent grading, and increased marketing support. He has set his company’s goals on doing just that.

This large 40.23 ct ruby was found in late 2014. Photo and courtesy Gemfields.
Gemfields faces a tall order in catching up to diamonds. Sales of gemstones remain a small fraction of diamond sales worldwide. In the US, they represent about 8% of jewelry store sales by value, according to the 2014 Jewelers of America’s Cost of Doing Business Survey. In China, that percentage is believed to be much higher, but with the vast majority consumed by the country’s passion for jade.

Gemfields, he believes, can be the change agent to lift gemstones to their rightful place in the market.

The company claims to be the world’s single largest known mining source of emeralds, with the production from its Kagem mine in Zambia, and is heading toward being able to make a similar claim for rubies, with its Montepuez mine in Mozambique. The company also operates the Kariba amethyst mine in southern Zambia.

	This giant emerald crystal from Zambia’s Kagem mine, named Nsofu, weighs in at 6100 ct.
	The smaller emeralds have a combined weight of 125 ct. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA,
	courtesy Gemfields.
The company bases its clout on the fact that it is the largest of only three publicly traded gemstone mining operations in the world, an anomaly in an industry still dominated by very small firms with little capital and possibly a few larger firms at some localities around the world, with limited disclosures and transparency. It is also the only gemstone operation with both the resources and the willingness to spend a large portion of its revenues on marketing and advertising.

This atypically large-sized ruby crystal, approximately 9.00 ct, was found while GIA was visiting. However, a much larger 40 ct plus gem ruby has since been reported. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
Last year, the company spent approximately $5 million – about one-third of its total advertising spend – on a marketing campaign that engaged actress Mila Kunis as brand ambassador for its emeralds. This year Mila is back, now sans makeup, to stress the “natural image” in a further $5 million campaign that extends to its ruby production.

In a break from most emerald and ruby producers, Gemfields sells its production openly through auctions, instead of through a private dealer network. This, according to Harebottle, both ensures that the company receives market-based, competitive prices for its rough, and gives a much wider range of leading global dealers access to supplies.

The company’s ambitious strategy consists of simultaneously tackling the following challenges: consistency in its product line, pricing, and grading. And it does this from the moment they mine the gemstones. “Consistent supply,” says Harebottle, “is where everything must start.”

Consistency has always been one of the most problematic challenges to the industry. Usually, when a deposit is discovered, small-scale miners flock to an area while the pickings are relatively easy to find, only to abandon it after the deposit dwindles, if quality of the gem material declines, or when the cost of inefficient extraction is more than the return—especially if a new, more lucrative area is discovered. The Winza ruby and sapphire deposit in Tanzania, which was discovered in 2007, offers an excellent example. For two years, gems flowed plentifully from the mine, but now, scarcely six years later, the primary deposits have been largely worked out, and very little fine material is easily accessible and reaching the market.

Additionally, many small mining operations avoid paying taxes and duties and then abandon the area after the easy shallow pickings have been removed, leaving the deeper-lying goods in the ground.

Gemfields’ high cost structure, supporting more than 1100 employees in three countries, and the capital costs of securing and operating a mine, limits the company’s ability to withhold goods when the market is rising, like many major gem dealers do, but they are still able to retain at least one year’s worth of emerald and ruby inventory at any given time for continuity of supply. Gemfields prefers to manage obtainable prices by driving demand, rather than trying to do so by holding back supply.  This age-old speculative practice invariably creates shortages that drive prices even higher, but stymie efforts by downstream retailers and dealers to create consistent jewelry lines.

Image of the Kagem mine prior to when Gemfields first started working it in 2008. Photo courtesy Gemfields.
But it all begins with the ground. When Gemfields took over the Kagem operation near Ndola, Zambia, in 2008, the first order of business was developing a systematic and efficient mining operation to achieve a consistent flow of material, says Robert Gessner, senior geologist at the mine. “Earlier mining methods had been haphazard, with numerous small pits scattered throughout.”

The Kagem mine in late 2014. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.

	Kafubu Location

	The Kagem emerald mine is in the Kafubu area, which is located in central Africa, at a critical
	intersection of the continent’s Pan-African belts. Map reproduced from John et al., 2004.

	Kagem Area

	The Kagem emerald mine (shaded green area) lies in the Kafubu emerald mining area.
	Reproduced courtesy Gemfields.
The Kagem mine is located about two hours from the copper mining town of Kitwe on a road that traverses through small villages and acacia trees almost to the country’s border with Democratic Republic of the Congo. The company invested $180 million to develop the deposit into a single, just over one kilometer-long pit that exposed all of the then-known emerald occurrences. Only a tiny fraction of the mass of rock and gravel removed from this pit is emerald-bearing ore—6000 tons out of one million tons each month—but the pay-dirt is rich, yielding between 250 and 300 carats of beryl and emerald per ton. About 8% of this production is gem quality, fairly high by most gem mining standards, with an additional 25% classified as “emerald” for use as beads. The remainder is called “beryl” for industrial and decorative uses.

From this rough, Gemfields established a detailed grading system to make its goods more appealing and understandable to the market. “It is the key to providing consistent supplies. Clients can know what they are buying, and count on goods being consistent at every sale. Confidence allows them to buy only what they need, in relatively large volumes, thereby allowing them to build out collections, improve their own economies of scale (in much the same way as many diamond sightholders are able to do) and further assist them in supporting these production runs with the associated marketing campaigns,” Harebottle says.

In the kilometer-long mining pit, workers perform a “quick sort,” washing the ore and then gathering the emerald crystals that have been blasted loose before the ore is sent to the washing plant. These are then placed through slots in padlocked and numbered boxes located nearby. The remaining ore is trucked out and sent to the crusher for further recovery.

(Left) As emeralds are first mined at Kagem, the initial search for emeralds continues. Workers wet the overburden to reveal tell-tale hints of green, while security guards keep a watchful eye from a distance. (Right) Any emeralds found, regardless of size or quality, are placed in holding boxes that are routinely picked up for transport to the emerald sorting house. Photos by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
Gessner explained that a high percentage of the material by value—50% to 60%—is collected in the pit, with the remainder recovered later from the crushers, washing, and recovery operations.

Kagem’s senior geologist, Robert Gessner, spends some time at a “picking belt” at the washing plant, where pre-screened overburden from various active mining pits arrives, then is washed and sorted by size. Pickers are placed throughout the facility. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
The key to accurate grading starts with rough processing (and sorting), explained Vijay Ameriya, sorting manager. The sorting house is a white brick building standing in the middle of the mining headquarters compound, surrounded by double rows of barbed wire fence. Inside the sorting house, workers thoroughly clean each rough stone. “Most of the matrix is removed,” he explains, “by gentle tumbling.”  Then, if necessary, by scraping and clipping the remainder of the matrix from the crystals. In the sorting room at Kagem, workers guided by small halogen lights remove the worthless material with the care of a surgical procedure. “This allows for a high level of value addition via accurate grading, sorting, weighing and parceling,” he says.

Clipping the crystals and “liberating” them from unwanted host minerals or matrix is time consuming, but experts do this with extreme care in an effort to not crack the underlying emerald crystals. Fiber-optic light helps reveal important emeralds under the matrix. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
“This step is important because clients can see the color and they can trust that there won’t be any matrix included in the weights when we auction them.”

However, security demands that even the matrix must be accounted for, Ameriya explained, adding that the cleaned crystal is weighed along with the pieces of waste matrix to determine if the numbers tally with the pre-cleaned weight.

The production is broken down into four basic grades: “premium emerald,” “emerald,” “beryl 1,” and “beryl 2.” After that, the premium emerald and emerald are run through sizing sieves to sort by weight. Next, they are divided by color: green with a secondary hue of yellow and green with a secondary hue of blue.

	At the sorting house, a sorter examines the translucency, size, and color of an emerald
	crystal before adding it to an assortment. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
They are sorted further by quality of color, tone, saturation, clarity, and shape. The graders, nearly all local workers, do the sorting in the main room of the plant, where, in the rear, there is a long table with 50 small piles of stones, representing each particular assortment of emerald grade, to be used as reference stones for classification of the company’s rough production.

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	Emerald Classification
Kagem’s production volumes have fluctuated greatly in the past eight years, though generally trending upward.

In its first year of operating Kagem (fiscal 2007), Gemfields reported that it mined 9.4 million carats of emerald and beryl.  Production increased slightly the following year, but leapt to 28 million carats for fiscal 2009, after Kagem upgraded its processing capacity. In 2010, production fell back to 17.4 million carats then fluctuated greatly: 35 million in 2011, 21 million in 2012, and 30 million in 2013.  The company reported it mined 20.2 million carats of emerald and beryl for fiscal 2014, down nearly 10 million carats from the previous year.  With 8% representing the finer material, such production would work out to about 1.6 million carats in fiscal 2014.

Revenues too, have been volatile. In 2011, the company reported sales of $40.9 million, jumping to $83.7 million the following year. However, in 2013 Gemfields reported a revenues of just $48.4 million, and a loss of $22.8 million. Included in the debit side, however, were costs associated with its acquisition of the Fabergé brand ($90 million in stock transfers). Also, the relocation of its primary emerald auction from Singapore to Lusaka delayed at least one sale until after the fiscal year had closed. In 2014, revenues soared 230.8% to $160 million as Montepuez ruby production came online, and the rescheduled fiscal 2013 emerald auctions swelled the total. The company, once again, turned a profit of over $8 million.

	MONTEPUEZ
Though rubies from Mozambique dominate today’s gemological discussions, their discovery is relatively recent. Indeed, they are not mentioned in 20th-century gemological literature, or in pre-1990 geologic studies scrutinizing this East African country’s gem potential.

Fine rubies are rarely plentiful anywhere, but they have been found in abundance in the Mozambique Belt, a geologic orogeny that stretches northward from Mozambique through Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The Mozambique Belt yields many of East Africa’s gem materials, including tanzanite, tsavorite, a host of yellow, red, and color-change garnets, chrysoberyls, and, of course, rubies and sapphires that were discovered in Kenya and Tanzania in the mid-1900s.

Perhaps the greatest irony is that Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony now dusting itself off from decades of Communism and civil war following independence, will likely emerge as one of the most lucrative ruby sources in this century.

This view of the primary ruby deposit at Maninge Nice, in Mozambique, reveals the area that is being worked by Gemfields in the foreground, as well as the surrounding terrain and woodlands. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
UK-based Gemfields, PLC, which has entered into an agreement with the Mozambique government regarding rubies from the Montepuez deposits, is keen to prove that the mining of rubies can be undertaken on a large-scale basis, categorized into definable and repeatable quality assortments, and sold through an orderly, systematic auction model. In so doing, the aim is to provide downstream buyers with a model of consistency and repeatability in a manner similar to what they have been able to achieve with their Zambian emeralds.

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	Searching for rubies in Mozambique

	Mozambique Map

Mozambique is located in southeastern Africa, with a long coastline that offers some of the most breathtaking beaches in the world. Its ruby mines are concentrated in the country’s northeastern corner. – Map adapted from Richard W. Hughes, 2009.

The Montepuez ruby operation, located in the mostly flat terrain of Miombo forests and occasional baobab trees about two hours west of the port city of Pemba, has been in operation for only two years. Makeshift villages of garimpeiros (artisanal diggers) have sprung up on the roads near the mine site because much of the area, including the primary mining area, remains unsecured.

Security at all Gemfields’ facilities requires visitors and employees to be searched before leaving the area. This security guard has a bird’s eye view of the ruby mining operations at Maninge Nice.  Nonetheless, illegal miners from surrounding areas still manage to penetrate into Gemfields’ claims, concealed in the thick undergrowth. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
Montepuez consists of a primary deposit, Maninge Nice, and a secondary deposit called Mugloto, both situated in the same region.  The ore is so rich that those walking along its surface once exposed can easily pick up ruby and pink corundum. The ore washing and processing is done at the mine site, then trucked to the sorting house within the miners’ compound, located about 10 km  (6 miles) from the diggings. Like Kagem, all of the material is thoroughly clipped and cleaned from the waste material before sorting.

The washing plant at Maninge Nice, Montepuez, Mozambique. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.

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	Ruby Classification

These two ruby rough samples would be cut into fine-quality rubies from Mozambique. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
The sorting house is a doubly-fenced facility located in the middle of the headquarters compound. The grading procedure is similar to Kagem’s but the grading is tailored to the different nature of corundum production. The basic grades are:

		Premium ruby: The highest qualities over 5 grams

		Ruby: The highest qualities below 5 grams and lower colors of about that weight

		Low ruby: These are segregated into three grades of color, size, and clarity. Much of this production has small fissures treated on-site with borax.

		Corundum

		Sapphire

		Small goods: -4.6 mm

About 60% of the production is corundum and pinkish to colorless sapphire, some of it treatable to a reasonable pink color. Low ruby represents about 20% to 25% of production. Ruby is about 10% to 12% and the premium grades constitute about 8%, says Phillippe Ressigeac, assistant product manager at the Montepuez sorting house.

The graders at Montepuez are helped by the fact that the source of most of the ruby and premium ruby is Mugloto, which produces material that is astonishingly homogenous in size and color, according to Gemfields.  Unlike the numerous emerald grades at Kagem, the top ruby from Mugloto falls into only four basic grades—A to D—depending on color and saturation. The A and B grades have colors resembling Burmese Mogok material, while C and D colors resemble the slightly darker Thai material.

Though cut from larger rough than the samples shown on the left, these 4.04 ct and 3.00 ct rubies from Mozambique represent some of the finer colors that can be achieved from similar rough. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Evan Caplan, Los Angeles.
The material is further divided by size, shape, and clarity. The premium ruby is sub-divided into seven size classifications, from the largest, +22 millimeters, down to 2 mm.

Mugloto produces 2 to 3 carats per metric ton of ore. The material in the primary deposit, Maninge Nice, varies from “sapphire” (highly included, tabular, and fissured pinkish material) to the fine, cuttable qualities. At 162 carats per ton, there’s a lot of it. In fact, the deposit is so rich that visitors to the area literally walk over ground speckled with corundum—of all qualities.

Walking through the Maninge Nice ruby deposit at Montepuez, Mozambique, corundum (including some rubies) are visible along the surface. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
Some of this low-quality material is similar to the pale, highly fissured stones found elsewhere near Montepuez that some dealers infuse with high-lead glass to create a “manufactured corundum product.”

Unfavorable news reports about such “glass-filled rubies” sold as natural without disclosure have cropped up in the US and other countries during the past several years, leading many gemstone dealers to say that such goods undermine confidence in all rubies. However, Harebottle sees no threat from unfavorable publicity spilling over to Gemfields’ finer production.

“First, I have no issue with treatments so long as they are clearly disclosed! Next, I believe consumers will work out what’s best for them, especially when supported by grading reports from recognized and respected laboratories.”

So, for him it’s about [informed consumer] choices. Top-quality ruby is an expensive stone, whereas treated goods are much more affordable and ubiquitous. “Should there not be scope enough in the market for various qualities and treatments of ruby, without one affecting the other and with each perfectly suiting an individual consumers finances and purchasing needs?” Harebottle asks.

A challenge confronting the trade is that, without disclosure at all levels, down to the final consumer, some of the fine material from Mozambique (left) could potentially be confused with the lowest-quality corundum that is glass filled. (right). Photo left by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Evan Caplan; photo right by Robert Weldon/GIA.
Harebottle stresses that Montepuez is still in the exploration and expansion phase, so the grades and qualities could still fluctuate a great deal over the next few years. For example, for the quarter ended in June 2013, the company mined 1.1 million carats of all qualities. For the same period ended in June 2014, the total mined was only 200,000 carats, but the value was far higher, he says.

Indeed, the ore processing and washing equipment remains basic and relatively small, and the miners have been unearthing far more than this equipment can process. The company plans to at least double the capacity of the washing operation by the spring of 2015.

	SALES
Gemfields’ open auctions are a radical departure from traditional colored stone industry practice and indeed much closer to that which has been applied within the diamond industry for the past many years.

For as long as there has been a gemstone industry, most colored stone producers have sold privately through an established network of dealers, now mainly in South America and India for emerald and other gem materials, or in Thailand for corundum. As a result, prices have often been erratic, with huge variations on similar material.

But Gemfields believes auctions, supported by detailed grading, allow for more transparency and truer price discovery. Harebottle says this price discovery has resulted in a marked reduction in the overall volatility of the per carat/quality prices achieved at its annual emerald auctions which the company has run since 2011. “In the old days the variance between the lowest bids and the highest bids could have been as high as 10,000%.

We had a situation where many of the world’s experts were basically bidding on the same rough, and yet the prices they were offering could be quite varied at times. Now, though we still have some ‘cheeky’ customers [making low bids] on the odd occasion, the variance is far less and the prices offered are far more stable¾between 100 and 200% at most.” Harebottle attributes this to a natural settling-in of the buyers, but also because its customers are now able to better understand the run of production. According to Harebottle the process is as follows:

		All of Gemfields’ auctions operate on a straightforward closed bid/tender with reserve system.

		Before each auction, Gemfields works out its Minimum Reserve Prices (the lowest amount we are willing to accept for any given schedule), and this is placed in the sealed bid box before the auction starts.

		The auction attendees then have a number of days to evaluate the goods, after which they must place binding offers on each schedule. Gemfields doesn’t accept a single bid for the entire auction—all of the lots as a whole.

		These offers are written into bid-books, which are placed into the bid-box by the attendees. They can place more than one bid per schedule, but only the highest bid is considered.

		After the close of the auction, all of the bids are evaluated for each schedule, where the bids received are higher than the pre-set minimum reserve price (MRP). Each schedule goes to the highest bidder.

		After all of the bids have been evaluated, the attendees are notified which company won which schedule (just the company name and which schedule they won, not what they bid). Any schedule where the bids did not reach the reserve are also identified, but in this instance Gemfields does disclose what its expected MRP was so that the customers are at least able to have some idea as to the Company’s expectations going forward.

The auction process for both rubies and emeralds is similar, though they take place in different locations. Gemfields’ Kagem auctions of its mined emeralds are held at at regular sales in Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, following a request by the government for the auctions to be held on Zambian soil.

At first, the company had reservations about holding the auctions in Zambia—expressing fears that the key buyers may have been reluctant to attend. However, buyers have attended, and the most recent sale in November 2014, achieved a record per-carat price (nearly $66) for 530,000 carats, divided into 17 lots. More than 88% of the goods offered were sold. Harebottle says that this helps prove the international scope of the business.

Traded goods, or emeralds that are not mined by Gemfields themselves, are sold in Jaipur, India, where many of Gemfields’ clients do business, and where an established emerald cutting business has existed since Moghul times. Montepuez material is sold in Singapore.

Gemfields hopes to reduce the volatility of prices caused by the “here today, gone tomorrow” mentality that has pervaded the gem business. For gem dealers, this means the ability to replace their original stock with similar goods once it is sold. For jewelers and designers, such a model offers the ability to create repeatable jewelry lines from emerald and ruby, and most importantly it justifies the concerted marketing efforts required to bring colored gemstones back to the forefront of the discerning consumer’s minds.

Gemfields, in addition to its own production, buys material from local markets. Last year it acquired some $8.5 million worth of emeralds from open market sources, which it sold separately from its own production.

For Harebottle, segregation of this material is important, and a matter of accountability. “Even though we apply the well-recognized Know Your Customer protocols, we can’t know for sure what’s happened to these (outside) goods; how they were mined, or the extent to which the environments in which they were mined may have been treated, but we are able to guarantee that all taxes and royalties and are covered from the time they have reached our hands,” he says. In some cases, Gemfields believes it is buying back material poached from its own concession, or even filched at its sorting operations, despite intense security throughout its mine in Zambia, which is surrounded by a high chain link fence, security cameras, and guards at key spots throughout the mine checkpoints, and along the access roads.

Smile! You are about to be searched from head to toe by this security guard at Kagem. All employees, company officials, and visitors are subject to being searched at various locations throughout the two mining areas. Photo by Robert Weldon/GIA, courtesy Gemfields.
Montepuez, however, is spread over a much wider area and remains largely unsecured. The ten kilometer drive between the mine camp and the Montepuez diggings is through thick brush that provides ample cover for garimpeiros—illegal diggers—who constantly forage the concession in search of rubies.

Harebottle says he’s seen a lot of sad cases—garimpeiros who become ill or dehydrated working, as they do, without protection from the sun.

“We can understand their circumstances, but can’t condone the theft or destruction of the environment,” he says, noting that Gemfields and the government, by reserving certain areas for miners, try to achieve a balance that is fair to all.

Complicating matters, however, is that many garimpeiros are migrants from other areas, or other countries. “They carry these gemstones out of Mozambique illegally, paying no taxes or royalties, so neither the communities nor the country benefits,” he explains.

	MARKETING
Gemfields’ sales model was derived, with modifications, from De Beers’ single channel marketing formula—a formula Harebottle used at his previous affiliation with the tanzanite mine, TanzaniteOne.

Like De Beers, he and then CEO, Michael Nunn, wanted to manage supply and had the advantage of owning the largest concession in the world’s only tanzanite deposit. In tandem, they devised a sales strategy where they chose and vetted customers—or sightholders—who purchased their goods at regularly scheduled sales.  In addition, they devised a rough tanzanite-grading grid to help sightholders fully understand the qualities they were buying. Finally, much like De Beers did throughout much of the last century, TanzaniteOne established a marketing arm, the Tanzanite Foundation, to help increase demand and gradually lift prices.

“Further, we wanted some sort of pricing guide for tanzanite, and we wanted certification [or identification reports] for the gem to help provide increased transparency for the trade and consumers alike,” Harebottle says.

Ian Harebottle, CEO of Gemfields. Photo courtesy Gemfields.
“You would not believe the amount of pushback we received from the gem trade,” Harebottle recalls. “We were accused of attempting to commoditize the gem and were told that this kind of control would rob them of their ability to tell sell the gem to their customers on account of its ‘romance’.”

Harebottle notes that much was learned from those experiences, including the fact that it is not necessary to control a large portion of the supply. “We thought that a De Beers style market share was the key. But we have changed our view.

“The key driver of value today is the position a product holds in the mind of the consumer,” he stresses.  ”Much of this is achieved through advertising. Along with positioning our product at the forefront  the consumers mind, there has to be a clear understanding of what Gemfields stands for: ethics, transparency, legacy, provenance, excellence and creativity.”

	A Sugarloaf Green Emerald ring designed by Alexandra Mor, New York, features a large
	emerald from Kagem. Photo courtesy Alexandra Mor.
These are major concerns of the  “Millennial Generation” in many parts of the world, and one such millennial, Mila Kunis, wanted to see all aspects of the company’s operations for herself before allowing her name to be attached to its products, says Harebottle.  In that sense, Mila Kunis is like many millennials who want to be able to trace a product to its roots and understand what the product stands for—sustainability in addition to the traditional notions of beauty and rarity.

Referring to the 40.23 ct ruby, Harebottle says that Gemfields is committed to following the stone from the mine to its ultimate owner, after pre-forming, polishing and setting. (See Box A).

Box A: Paydirt and Corporate Responsibility

				Joseph Chilambwe, Senior Manager in charge of community relations for the Kagem mine in northern Zambia, extends his arm in a sweeping arc at the acacia tree forest before us. “Kagem has taken on the responsibility for this entire area, from our mine to the highway.”

				The Kagem mine is the largest emerald mine in Zambia, operated by Gemfields in partnership with the national government. The area, extending about 12 miles to the main highway running to the copper mining town of Ndola—about a three-hour drive—had been sparsely populated before emeralds were discovered there. Today, there are small plots where families have settled – families of illegal miners, farmers, or simply people looking for an income—scattered throughout the forested rolling hills around the mine area.

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					Building a Sustainable Community
				With Chilambwe at the wheel, we proceed down a reddish-brown dirt road that slices through the brush, on the way to a village called Kapila where Kagem has constructed a three classroom school. “This is the main road, which we maintain. But because the people are so scattered, we had to build eleven kilometers of additional roads so they can get to the classrooms,” he says.

				Turning into an abbreviated side road, he stops the car near several traditional houses that sit beside lush fields contrasting vividly against the surrounding dry scrub. “These families are part of the Kapila Green Farmers’ Cooperative that supplies our mine with fresh vegetables.”

				The fields are demarcated by well-tended irrigation ditches and yield cabbage, potatoes, onions, and several other staples. “In fact, the program is so successful that they’ve grown crops far in excess of the mine’s needs so we now have to find a way of getting them to market.”

				The school lies several miles past the farm, in an open field beside a formation of anthills that protrude from the landscape like monuments. The Kapila school, accommodating grades one to seven, for which Kagem provides all support, has three classrooms with teachers and aides also paid for by Kagem. Each classroom has three rows of wooden tables and benches that accommodate two or three students across, depending on the age group. The instruction consists of basic literacy (including English), mathematics, and home economics, though the instructors note proudly that at least one of their students has gone on to study at a university.  Technology and computer training are limited by the lack of electricity in the region and the difficulties that some of the students have traversing the distance to the classrooms each day.

				“This school is not yet recognized by the government,” says Chilambwe, “so we still support it fully until then.” In Chapula, another five kilometers down the road, Kagem built a larger school with seven classroom blocks that serves children up to 10th grade, notes Chilambwe.

				Nearby is the Nkana clinic, designed to service basic medical needs for both Kapila and Chapula. We arrived too late to talk with the staff but Chilambwe told us it employs a nurse to handle routine care and has access to an ambulance for more serious cases.

				Montepuez in Northern Mozambique is also located in a relatively remote area, the closest major city being the port of Pemba, approximately a three-hour drive to the southwest. Our time at Montepuez was too limited to visit the surrounding areas but the mine’s project manager, Sanjay Kumar, explained that the company has developed drinking water wells for two local villages, Namanhumbir and Nacoja, both about ten miles from the mine site. It has also renovated the school and village market at Namanhumbir and contributed to renovating schools in several other villages.

				“There are a lot of other things that we do for the people in the area,” Krumar says. “There are thousands of illegal miners in our concession and sometimes we have to find medical care for those who have fallen from dehydration.”

				Gemfields had some major fence-mending to accomplish with the local community after it assumed control of the concession in 2012. Before then, there were numerous instances where guards at the mine shot at, and occasionally killed, illegal miners (garimpeiros). This long had been a problem in the area, according to local press reports. In one instance, shortly before Gemfields’ arrival, guards fired on 300 miners, killing one and wounding two others.

				Additionally, Gemfields announced at its December 2014 auction of Montepuez rubies that it has begun supporting anti-rhino poaching efforts by helping to fund the aerial surveillance of game preserves along the 300 mile-long border between Mozambique and South Africa. The African rhinos are highly endangered and Gemfields named a 40.23 ct. ruby it discovered in November 2014, the Rhino Ruby, to raise more awareness of the issue.

Gemfields acquired some glamor of its own in 2013, when it bought the venerable Fabergé jewelry brand, which had been revived six years earlier. Harebottle says that the brand will provide the perfect platform for its gemstones and Gemfields desire to reinvigorate the jewelry sector as a whole. The brand operates about a dozen boutiques around the world and Fabergé designers have integrated Kagem emeralds and Montepuez rubies into its jewelry creations.

Can Gemfields accomplish all it has set out to do?

Doug Hucker, executive director of the American Gem Trade Association, likes the company’s emphasis on marketing and responsible mining practices. He also believes that steady supplies can be a great benefit, but doubts that Gemfields could bring order to a traditionally disordered trade.

“They want to establish consistent pricing. Perhaps they can for their product: Zambian emeralds. But Colombian emeralds are different goods,” he explains. “So it’s not likely that Gemfields’ prices will completely translate.”

Additionally, he says that “getting these (gem producers) to come together is like herding cats. Second, it takes immense resources and high market share to influence supplies and prices across-the-board. It is not certain Gemfields has the market share to do this.”

Harebottle realizes that the gemstone industry remains skeptical about Gemfields’ market initiatives, especially pricing. Many are particularly worried that detailed, consistent grading leads to commoditization. He doesn’t dispute that. Indeed, he believes that a Rapaport type price list would potentially be a boon to the industry in time as it supports increased consumer confidence, especially for stones over two carats, but he also understand many of the inherent challenges.

“Some short-term profits may be lost, but the industry will more than make up for that through increased sales because people will know the value of what they have purchased instead of dealing with (the current state of) huge variations in price and uncertainty.”

He admits that this is not a popular view among most colored stone dealers and producers who he believes are still stuck in the past, but that colored stone demand has come a long way in recent years, though from a low base. “Increasing transparency and increasing consistency of prices and supplies will result in more demand for colored gems across the board. I have no doubt about that and that it will be good for everyone when it happens.” @topic:11


Publish Year: - Title: A Study of Sapphire from Chanthaburi, Thailand and its Gemological Characteristics Abstract: Rough and facetted sapphires from Thailand. The large facetted stone in the center weighs 8.14 ct. Photo by Wim Vertriest © GIA.  Gems courtesy of Indy Khurana (Khurana Jewels, Bangkok).

Thailand has been a leader in the global corundum trade since the 1950s. Bangkok and Chanthaburi remain important treatment and trading centers even though many—though not all—of the country’s corundum deposits are nearly exhausted. Since the early 2000s, there’s been a small-scale mining revival in Thailand’s Chanthaburi province. Chanthaburi’s sapphire deposits are associated with alkali basalts, where the gems occur as xenocrysts in basalt in the Khao Ploy Waen and Bang Kacha areas. Local farmers partner with miners to work the sapphire deposits and return the land back to agricultural use when mining ceases.

A new report from the GIA Laboratory in Bangkok, A Study of Sapphire from Chanthaburi, Thailand and its Gemological Characteristics presents their findings. 59 blue/greenish-blue sapphire samples obtained from a miner in the Khao Ploy Waen area, Chanthaburi, were fashioned to optimize them for LA-ICP-MS chemical analysis, UV-Vis-NIR and FTIR spectroscopy, and inclusion studies using microscopy and Raman spectroscopy.

Thai sapphires resemble gems from other basalt-related deposits in Cambodia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Australia, Laos and Northern Madagascar. As sapphires from these sources share similar geologic origins, it’s challenging to discriminate between them. Magnification revealed angular growth structures, needles, and particles, along with mineral inclusions like plagioclase feldspar, zircon, pyrochlore, monazite, mica, and molybdenyte. UV-Vis-NIR and FTIR spectra show features typical of basalt-related sapphires. Although LA-ICP-MS analysis showed a large overlap with the trace element chemistry of sapphires from other basalt-related deposits, the authors identify some overall trends that could prove helpful. They also suggest a combination of techniques—trace-element chemistry and microscopy—can help separate Thai blue sapphire from Cambodian and Nigerian samples with similar characteristics. However, the authors note to further support geographic origin determination, the relationship between inclusions, spectra and chemistry in basalt-related sapphires needs further analysis and study. @topic:9


Publish Year: 2015 Title: Coated Rock Crystal Imitation of Ruby Abstract: Figure 1. This coated rock crystal imitation of ruby has a brown skin. Photo by Nazar Ahmed Ambalathveettil, Dubai Central Laboratory.

	Recently the Dubai Central Laboratory received for identification a rough stone weighing 616.93 g and measuring approximately 114.3 × 65.8 × 53.0 mm (figure 1). Most of it was covered by a brown skin, while other parts were transparent. Viewed through one of the transparent areas, the stone showed a red color. Under oblique light, the stone appeared dark red, with some areas that were colorless (figure 2).

Figure 2. The rock crystal shows dark red under transmitted light to imitate ruby. Photo by Nazar Ahmed Ambalathveettil, Dubai Central Laboratory.

	Microscopic examination with transmitted light revealed negative crystals, fingerprints, and two-phase inclusions. Observation of the transparent and opaque areas on the surface showed red, green, and blue areas of coating that could be removed using sharp needles. These coated areas gave the stone a purplish red color overall, but some transparent areas appeared colorless under transmitted light and no coating was observed there. The stone’s specific gravity (SG) was 2.60. The coated area gave a patchy chalky blue and purple reaction under long-wave UV and was inert to short-wave UV. SG and inclusions indicated a rock crystal; this was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy.

	This was the first time the Dubai Central Laboratory had identified such a large coated rough stone imitating ruby. @topic:3


Publish Year: - Title: GIA Field Gemologists Seek Blue Sapphire and Lapis Lazuli in Mogok, Myanmar Abstract: Hunting Sapphire and Lapis in Mogok

	GIA field gemologists seek Mogok’s blue sapphire and lapis lazuli.

	In this short video, you’ll witness the fascinating work of GIA’s dedicated Field Gemologists Vincent Pardieu and Andy Lucas as they seek sapphire and lapis lazuli for the institute’s reference collection. With them, you’ll follow Mogok’s miners deep underground. As Pardieu explains, “…to see the work they’re doing in order to bring the gems out of the ground …I’m amazed all the time.”

	The Mogok valley is unique—no other gem deposit in the world has ever produced such a variety and quantity of exceptional gems over such a long period of time. As Pardieu explains, “Stones are durable, so all the stones that were mined in Mogok over the last thousand years …they are still here…in the market somewhere…maybe in New York, in Paris, in London, in Tokyo…in China. People own them.”

	Discovered centuries ago, Mogok remains one of the most active gem deposits in the world, and also one of the most secretive. During most of its history it was not accessible to foreigners. Indeed, the area only opened up to gemologists in June of 2013.

	In the video, GIA takes you to the Mogok valley. The mining area is about 400 miles (650 km) north of Yangon in a densely vegetated, mountainous area rising to 7,700 feet (2,347 meters) above sea level. With an unparalleled reputation as the source of fine gemstones going back more than 800 years, Mogok is known to produce rubies, sapphires, spinel, peridot and many other gems.

	You’ll see all these gem types at Mogok’s bustling markets. There, the GIA gemologists find what’s claimed to be locally mined lapis lazuli. “It would be interesting to find it,” says Pardieu. “In several books and articles, there is a report about lapis deposits in Burma, but this is not confirmed.”

	In this video, you’ll follow them in their search for the lapis mine as they locate the spot and collect samples for the GIA reference collection.

	These GIA Field Expeditions (FE49 and FE50) took place in January 2014. Gemologists Vincent Pardieu and Andy Lucas were accompanied by cameraman Didier Gruel. @topic:9


Publish Year: 2021 Title: Atypical Dyed Beryl Abstract: Figure 1. A mounted green stone with a superficial resemblance to emerald was later revealed to be dyed beryl. Photo by Sean-Andrew Z. Pyle.

A green stone mounted in a ring was recently submitted to the New York lab. The ring’s prongs prevented a full reading of the stone’s refractive index, but a maximum reading of 1.578 indicated the material was potentially beryl. Face-up, the even distribution of color made an identification of emerald appear likely (figure 1).

Figure 2. Thin, evenly distributed concentrations of green dye in the beryl, as seen through the table. Photomicrograph by Tyler Smith; field of view 1.76 mm.
However, careful microscopic examination revealed an even distribution of thin green zoning resembling mica platelets typical of amazonite (figure 2).

Figure 3. Basal cleavage under oblique illumination. Shallow cavities can be seen toward the top, where the fissures reach the surface of the stone. Photomicrograph by Tyler Smith; field of view 2.90 mm.
Oblique fiber-optic lighting exposed a network of incipient basal cleavage perpendicular to the c-axis (figure 3). Using a handheld spectroscope, a characteristic of dyed green beryl was observed: a broad absorption band in the red region in the absence of chromium lines. Denser green color concentrations were also present in larger surface-reaching fissures.
While dyed beryl is occasionally submitted to GIA, it is mostly translucent and immediately identifiable due to its unnatural color. This impressive emerald imitation was the first of its kind submitted to the New York or Carlsbad labs. It serves as an important reminder that careful, methodical gemological testing is necessary to detect these subtler treatments. @topic:3


Publish Year: 2022 Title: Many Faces of Wavellite Abstract: Figure 1. This specimen of wavellite in matrix shows the mineral’s characteristic radiating pattern. Photo by GIA.
A well-known collector mineral, wavellite (Al3(PO4)2(OH)3•5H2O), is named after its discoverer, British surgeon Dr. William Wavell. Wavellite mineral specimens seen on the market often occur as botryoidal aggregates. The crystal clusters are usually spherical in appearance. When the spheres are broken open, the cross sections show their signature radiating pattern formed by acicular-shaped crystals (figure 1).
Wavellite is not a gem material renowned for its brilliance or breathtaking colors, but its unique appearance does trigger curiosity and creativity. At the AGTA show, James Carpenter of Unconventional Lapidarist (Hot Springs, Arkansas) showed the authors a variety of wavellite cabochons and slabs and shared how he stabilizes the material for jewelry use.
All wavellite carried by Unconventional Lapidarist is sourced from Arkansas, one of the well-known sources for this gem. When used in jewelry, wavellite must be stabilized (figure 2) to make the piece durable. This is due to both the relatively low hardness of the material (3.5–4) and its occurrence in the host rock. Arkansas wavellite formed in veins cementing together brecciated sandstone/chert host rock. Therefore, the majority of wavellite specimens occur as very thin slabs or small spherical bodies.

Figure 2. Left to right: Wavellite rough before treatment, stabilized rough, a slab of stabilized rough with all the waste host rock trimmed off, and two pieces of polished stabilized wavellite cabochons (89 and 405 ct, respectively). Photo by Tao Hsu; courtesy of Unconventional Lapidarist.
Carpenter noted that 99% of the production needs stabilization for the materials to withstand further processing. He developed his own resin for this stabilization process. This resin is hydrophobic, meaning it is water resistant, and environmentally and biologically friendly. The material is impregnated with this resin in a vacuum under very high pressure and then cured and sliced. Slicing helps reveal where the wavellite is embedded in the host rock. Host rock that bears no wavellite is trimmed off before further polishing. Restabilization is sometimes necessary, especially when cabochons are to be made, to ensure the finished product is durable when set in jewelry. The yield of this process is only about 15%, with 85% waste.
Stabilized wavellite can then be polished to cabochons (figure 3) and mounted in jewelry, with high-quality material revealing an attractive botryoidal structure of rounded segments and/or radiating patterns with beautiful colors. The slab can also be utilized without much polishing (figure 4, left). The latter option works perfectly for stones showing the botryoidal exterior. When one turns this type of cabochon on its side, some of the broken spheres clearly show the radiating pattern, adding appeal to the jewelry piece (figure 4, right). Wavellite can be collected as mineral specimens or used as decor and jewelry material.

Figure 3. This wavellite cabochon is of high quality. Some of the spheres were sliced open to show the radiating pattern, while others were left untouched. Wrapped in gold-plated wires, the cabochon weighs 150 ct, with a blue apatite mounted at the top. Photo by Tao Hsu; courtesy of Unconventional Lapidarist.

Figure 4. Left: This piece of wavellite slab kept the original look of the rock with its botryoidal habit. Right: The view from the side reveals the radiating pattern on the cross sections of sliced-open spheres. Photos by Tao Hsu; courtesy of Unconventional Lapidarist. @topic:1


Publish Year: - Title: Mila Adds Mileage to Gemfields' Emerald Push Abstract: A worker at Gemfields’ Kagem mine in northern Zambia shows off a high-quality emerald embedded in matrix. The mine is the largest in Zambia and produces an estimated 20% of the world's emeralds. Photos provided by Gemfields.

The colored gemstone industry has traditionally been dominated by small miners and individual traders or very small firms. This brings an entrepreneurial spirit to the industry, but these smaller businesses lack the resources needed to effectively promote gemstones in a highly competitive retail environment.

GIA senior industry analyst Russell Shor spoke with Ian Harebottle, the CEO of Gemfields, a large, publicly held gemstone mine, about the company’s efforts to use advertising and promotions to lift the entire industry.

		“Gemstones are incredibly beautiful,” says Gemfields CEO Ian Harebottle. “But their real value is revealed by designers’ artistry and strong marketing.”

		“Otherwise, they are just placed on a scale and sold by the carat and the cheapest dealer wins,” he says. “[That’s when] these magnificent and rare gemstones lose out.”

		Harebottle says Gemfields is trying to move beautiful colored gems off the scales with an initial $5 million marketing campaign to instill more glamour and excitement ‒ such as asking actress Mila Kunis to be the new face of Gemfields. He refers to what De Beers’ “Diamonds are Forever” advertising campaign has done for diamonds – and points out that colored gemstones, after all, are also forever.

		Kunis, who starred in Disney’s “Oz the Great and Powerful,” has succeeded in getting the jewelry-shy fashion press writing about emeralds. The company is working with designers and jewelers in key markets around the world to showcase emerald jewelry. It also recently acquired Fabergé and is in the process of reviving the name as a luxury jewelry brand.

		Colored gems have never had a serious, sustained marketing campaign. De Beers was spending $220 million a year back in the 1990s, so Gemfields has a long way to go. But, Harebottle adds, “One requires a lot less cash, time, and effort to sell and market a color TV than you would to sell a top-of-the-line black and white unit.”

		Gemfields is trying to address other challenges that have worked against the gemstone industry over the years: The fragmentation of the colored stone industry has created a number of barriers to its growth: inconsistent supplies (many gem sources are short-lived and mined by hand, creating a great deal of waste); lack of capital (very small firms generally do not qualify for bank financing); and lack of a unified product (dealers have traditionally promoted only the types of gemstones in their own inventories).

		Gemfields controls the largest emerald deposit in Zambia and is an anomaly in the colored gemstone industry, which is largely comprised of thousands of very small enterprises. The company is publicly traded, with revenues of nearly $84 million last year, and believes it has the tools to put emeralds in the public eye: a relatively large marketing budget of $5 million, a brand presence through the Fabergé acquisition, and a diverse portfolio of gemstones.

		This portfolio includes:

			A 75% share of Zambia’s Kagem emerald mine, which produces an estimated 20% of the world’s supply

			A 50-50 partnership in the Kariba amethyst deposit, also in Zambia, which supplies an estimated 40% of the goods currently in the market

			A 75% interest in the Montepuez ruby project in Mozambique

	The Montpuez deposit is still in its early stages, so emeralds represented the vast majority of Gemfields’ revenue for fiscal 2012 and remained the focus of its marketing activities.

		Harebottle says Gemfields is addressing the supply challenge by maintaining a one-year stockpile of Kagem emeralds of various sizes and qualities, with plans to do the same for its other operating mines.

		“Jewelry designers and manufacturers need continuity of supply if they are going to produce and market lines effectively,” he says, noting that about 60% of them are in the Far East and Middle East and the remainder in the U.S. and Europe.

		The company has encountered challenges from its partner. In the spring of 2013, the government required Gemfields to hold all rough stone auctions within Zambia’s borders instead of its customary location in Singapore. Government officials claimed that the auctions abroad were a revenue drain.

		The company held its first Zambia-based auction in Lusaka in April, shortly after the government measure. Sales were lackluster, prompting worries that the big international buyers would not travel to Lusaka for the larger sale in July, featuring the best material.

		Harebottle’s fears were put to rest, however, after the auction realized $31.5 million. The 583,448-carat sale brought $54 per carat, about $11 more per carat than the previous year’s event in Singapore. (If $54 per carat seems low, it’s because the average yield of gem material from the rough is about 5%, with the very best pieces yielding about 10%.)

		The centerpiece of the sale was a crystal weighing more than 2,000 carats purchased by Eshed Diam, an Israeli emerald cutter. The price was not disclosed.

		Avraham Eshed said in a statement that the bidding for the stone was “extremely competitive,” with more than 40 companies participating.

		These results, Harebottle says, “were spectacular, but the key now is to make sure that whatever we do serves only to continue the momentum and growth in demand that we have achieved over the past few years.”

		Harebottle is also heartened by the improved communication between his company and the Zambian government since then, noting that many senior government officials attended the July sale. More recently, he says, Zambia has opened up to the possibility of alternating sales venues, with the stipulation that Lusaka remains one of the sites. This idea has Harebottle’s full support.

		Gemfields does have its critics. Some claim the company is edging local artisanal miners out from the best concessions around Kagem and the Montpuez deposit. Harebottle counters that Gemfields has never displaced any local miners and maintains an assistance program for them, including access to its medical facilities. He says that those who level such criticisms have an agenda of their own – namely dealers who pay these miners very little for their finds, pay no taxes or export duties, and reap huge profits by selling the gems in the world market.

		“Ultimately, we are trying to raise world demand ‒ and prices ‒ for colored gems,” Harebottle says. “Local miners can only benefit from that.”

		Workers at a Gemfields washing plant.

GIA does not endorse any specific commercial product or company. @topic:11


Publish Year: 2020 Title: Russian Emerald Abstract: Figure 1. The Malysheva emerald mine outside of Ekaterinburg, Russia. The giant open pit was originally mined for emerald and then beryllium. Now the mine operation is underground below the processing facility (the green building on the other side of the pit). Photo by Tao Hsu.

On the long list of emerald-producing countries, Russia is one of the more mysterious to the trade and consumers. Emerald was found in the Ural Mountains in the early nineteenth century. Malysheva was the most famous of these deposits and the world’s largest emerald producer at the start of World War I. During the Soviet era, this deposit was nationalized and mined for beryllium instead of emerald. Today, underground mining is going strong and actively producing emeralds (figure 1).

Figure 2. A collection of Russian emerald offered by Dudley Blauwet Gems. These stones range from about 0.1 to 3 ct. Photo by Tao Hsu.
At this year’s show, the authors found two exhibitors with Russian emerald ranging in quality from commercial to fine without any treatment. Dudley Blauwet Gems offered Russian emeralds from 0.1 to about 3 ct at the AGTA show. The light to slightly dark green stones were offered as singles, pairs, and sets (see figure 2 and figure 5 in the Tucson Overview). Worth noting is that most of the Russian stones the authors saw showed bright colors and high clarity.

Figure 3. A selection of fine Russian emerald from Tsarina Jewels ranging from 1.27 to 8.38 ct. All stones are natural with no filling. Photo by Kevin Schumacher.
At the GJX show, Tsarina Jewels offered Russian emeralds of larger sizes and fine quality. This exhibitor carried stones as large as 8 ct or more (figure 3). These stones also displayed a wide range of various shades of green colors. The authors noticed that Russian emeralds are still quite rare to find on the market, while emeralds from Colombia and Zambia dominate the market. @topic:1


Publish Year: 2015 Title: Bold Color Combinations Abstract: Top: This vibrant 2.08 ct oval pink sapphire flanked by a pair of warm-hued spessartine garnets totaling 3.41 carats strikes a tropical note. Bottom: This bold pendant and earring suite features three marquise-shaped tanzanites totaling 6.73 carats, with modified brilliant rubellite tourmalines of 14.20 carats total. Photos courtesy of Stephen M. Avery.

For retailers and designers overwhelmed by the endless rows of gemstones lined up in trays, inspiration could be found at the booth of Stephen M. Avery (Lakewood, Colorado). Avery presented “statement”-sized gemstones in suites of bold color combinations, as seen above. His company has mainly sourced African stones but is now traveling to Asia to add brightly colored sapphire and spinel to its design palette. Avery, an expert cutter as well as buyer, fashioned all the gemstones in his inventory. The combination of craftsmanship and creative inspiration appeared to have paid off, as he reported the company’s best show ever. @topic:8


Publish Year: 2022 Title: Repaired Grandidierite Abstract: Figure 1. Flattened gas bubbles caught in the break of a filled fracture are visible face up in this 1.43 ct repaired grandidierite. Photo by Annie Haynes.
Recently the Carlsbad laboratory received for identification services a transparent bluish green stone weighing 1.43 ct and measuring 7.47 × 6.31 × 4.06 mm (figure 1). Standard gemological testing revealed a refractive index of 1.58–1.62 on both the crown and pavilion, suggesting that both the crown and pavilion were grandidierite. This was confirmed using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Microscopic examination showed a very large fracture that broke continuously around the entire stone. Closer inspection revealed that the fracture was filled (figure 2), and this filling was holding the stone together, indicating that the stone was likely broken into two pieces and then repaired with a resin or glue.

Figure 2. Flattened gas bubbles caught in the filling of the large fracture that breaks continuously through the entire pavilion and some of the crown. Photomicrograph by Michaela Stephan; field of view 4.79 mm.
Grandidierite is a very rare mineral, and transparent gem-quality material was not found in the market until 2015 (Winter 2015 Gem News International, pp. 449–450). Named after French naturalist Alfred Grandidier (1836–1912), grandidierite was first discovered in 1902 at the cliffs of Andrahomana on the southern coast of Madagascar (D. Bruyere et al., “A new deposit of gem-quality grandidierite in Madagascar,” Fall 2016 G&G, pp. 266–275). This is the first repaired grandidierite GIA has seen to date. @topic:1


Publish Year: 2017 Title: New Ruby Miner in Mozambique Abstract: Figure 1. The washing process used by Mustang Resources is different from most jigs used for colored stone mining. Photo courtesy of Mustang Resources.

Mustang Resources LLC, a publicly listed Australian company, is developing a ruby mining operation in northern Mozambique. With the success of the colored stone mining giant Gemfields, Mozambique has secured its position in today’s global ruby market. Mustang’s concession is located about 8 km northwest of Gemfields’ Montepuez ruby mine. Both properties are located on the ruby mineralization belt in the Montepuez Complex, where ideal physical and chemical conditions favored the formation of gem-quality ruby. In between the two concessions there are some designated ruby-bearing areas where individual small-scale miners can legally work.

While the geology of the Mustang operation is generally similar to that of the Gemfields concession, the bulk sampling strategy and washing process are slightly different (figure 1). Currently, the miners focus on exploring and sampling the secondary deposits. They open pits of 20 × 5 meters or 20 × 7 meters and immediately refill the first pit before opening the adjacent ones; this way, no large pit is left open on the surface of the mining area. Mustang has been using scrubbers instead of log washers to break the clay bodies in the ore. A new customized scrubber system will soon be in place to optimize this process. Unlike the jig system applied by many colored gemstone mining operations around the world, the team uses a giant rotary pan to concentrate the heavy minerals, including ruby, through the centrifugal forces generated during rotation.

Since the team from Mustang started to develop the project in early 2016, the exploration, bulk sampling and ruby recovery have made significant progress. Christiaan Jordaan, the managing director of Mustang’s Montepuez ruby project, informed the authors that the washing plant had been successfully relocated and tuned to operate efficiently and that grading into parcels had begun (figure 2). The team has test marketed these rubies in the United States, where some large, significant stones will be cut by well-known cutters. Mustang will also test the ruby market in Asia and other parts of the world. Jordaan reassured the authors that Mustang will focus on improving quality of life in the mining community and promoting their ruby as an ethically mined product. Since the beginning of this ruby mining project, the company has hired and trained 70 local employees to work together with foreign experts.

Figure 2. Taking a cue from Gemfields, Mustang Resources grades rough rubies into
specific quality and size parcels. Photo by Andrew Lucas and Tao Hsu, courtesy of
Mustang Resources. @topic:9