Gemfields Group Ltd has commenced a series of online emerald auctions, scheduled for  November and December 2020, to address existing market demand. 

 A selection of grades typically offered at auctions of higher-quality emeralds is featured at  the five “mini” auctions, according to Gemfields. 

 The first sale was completed on November 6, with all four of the offered lots being sold.  Another auction was held on November 12 while the other three are slated for November 27,  December 4 and December 11.  

Gemfields typically holds five to six ruby and emerald auctions per year. Its 2020 auction  schedule however was severely impacted by Covid-19-induced restrictions, with the company  having been able to host only one regular emerald auction in February, which yielded US$11.5  million. 

 All other events scheduled for May, June, August and December have been cancelled.  

Depending on market conditions and Covid-19-related developments, Gemfields said two  larger auctions – one each of mixed-quality rubies and higher-quality emeralds – might take place  in the first quarter of 2021.

The company is also banking on the resumption of suspended mining operations at the Kagem emerald mine and the Montepuez ruby by March 2021.

Adrian Banks, Gemfields’ managing director for Product and Sales, said prices at the first mini  auction were “robust” and in some cases exceeded bids received during pre-Covid-19 auctions. 

 “The fact that operations at the world’s largest mines for emerald and ruby have been  suspended since March and April 2020, and may remain suspended until March 2021, is clearly  also on people’s minds,” noted Banks. “While these mini-auctions are not significant in the context of Kagem’s 2019 revenues, they are important in our ongoing probing of the market, in assessing logistics in the Covid-19 era and in testing variations in our usual auction format, including online auctions.”