Gemfields to restart Kagem mining as emeralds recover

GEMFIELDS said on Thursday it will restart open pit mining at its Kagem emerald mine in Zambia after pausing production for four months amid subdued market prices, and as part of cost cutting measures.The London- and Johannesburg-listed precious stones miner and marketer said in an announcement the market for emeralds had recovered sufficiently well. This was following “encouraging” results from an auction in April, it said.Production would recommence at “two key production points” in the Chama pit requiring minimal waste mining in an effort to recover premium emeralds for Kagem’s “future higher-quality auctions”, the company added. A full reopening of Kagem would be “assessed as market conditions develop”, said Gemfields.In lieu of full mining, Kagem continued to produce emeralds from its recently upgraded processing pipeline. Commenting on that production, Gemfields said performance had been “in line with expectations”.  Production consisted of a “lower proportion of higher-quality or premium emeralds than direct open-pit mining methods”.Gemfields has been through the wringer in the last six to 12 months. In December the Zambian government imposed a duty on exports, later revoked. In Mozambique, where it mines for rubies from the Montepuez operation, civil unrest following a dispute election result interrupted production.In April the company announced plans for a $30m rights issue at a deep discount to its share price to shore up finances in the face of severe losses and grim market conditions.  Gemfields posted an operating loss of $97.9m for the year ended December (2023: $17.4m profit) and a net loss of $100.8m ($2.8m loss).“Market conditions through 2024 were more challenging than we could have anticipated,” said Gemfields CEO Brian Gilbertson at the time. “Revenues at both emerald and ruby auctions were materially lower than the group experienced in recent years,” he added.Shares in the company have fallen just over 30% year to date but showed signs of life today, increasing nearly 4% in early Johannesburg trade.The post Gemfields to restart Kagem mining as emeralds recover appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com