Gem Mining Targets Luxury Goods Market

Mustang Resources has secured tenements prospective for rubies near the world’s largest ruby deposit held by AIM-listed Gemfields Plc in Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique. Mustang has reported finding 10 rubies totalling 2.61 carats in initial test excavations from areas bearing strong similarities to the alluvial terraces being mined by Gemfields. More extensive bulk test work is planned by Mustang using a larger scale plant with the aim of generating stones for sale through auctions pioneered by Gemfields in an attempt to emulate the diamond mining industry in the way in which rubies are sold and marketed. Mining Journal reported in June 2016 that Gemfields had offered 75 lots containing 1.6 million carats in its latest auction selling a total of 1.52Mct (71 lots) at an average price of US$296.21 per carat. Gemfields, owner of luxury goods brand Faberge, conducts up to four auctions a year. Developed successfully, Mustang’s Montepuez ruby project would offer Australian investors a unique exposure to a mining project with connections to an affluent consumer market increasingly concerned to ensure the provenance of its purchases.