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Zambian shares experience on Future of the gemstone mining A high-level delegation of officials from Zambia visited Mozambique last week to share experiences on the future of the gemstone mining sector between the two nations, which are home to the world’s largest emerald and ruby mines respectively. The delegation, led by Ministry of Mines Permanent Secretary Paul Chanda, included senior representatives from the Zambia Revenue Authority, Mine Workers Union of Zambia (MUZ), National Union of Miners & Allied Workers (NUMAW) and Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which owns 25 percent of Kagem Mining in a partnership with London-based Gemfields, which also operates Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) in the Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique. The Zambian group, accompanied by Kagem chairman Dr Sixtus Mulenga and Gemfields and Kagem CEO Sean Gilbertson, travelled to Mozambique for the inauguration of MRM’s new US$15 million sort house by the Governor of the Cabo De...

Invested US$11 million in new equipment To increase operational efficiencies Kagem Mining has invested US$11 million in new equipment to increase operational efficiencies at the world’s largest emerald mine, creating further skilled local jobs in the process. The equipment includes 13 Articulated Dump Trucks (ADTs) with a rated capacity of 45 tonnes each; two 6-cubic-metre Hydraulic Excavators and service equipment such as Water Bowser with 36,000 Litres carrying capacity, Tyre Handler, Telescopic Handler and other supporting equipment. These machines feature state of art technology to facilitate smooth, safe and productive operations. Kagem General Manager Prahalad Kumar Singh said: “This additional capital infusion will improve the productivity with enhanced efficiency at reduced operational cost.   This is in line with our philosophy of continuous process improvement.” With the support of Gemfields’ management, the purchase of Kagem’s new machinery has...

The glamour of the red carpet at Cannes or Hollywood is a far cry from the hot and dusty pit of the world’s single largest producing emerald mine, Kagem in Lufwanyama. But for the team at the mine, the excitement of seeing Zambia’s emeralds on the world stage makes their job worthwhile. For one of the mine’s longest serving employees, Senior Manager for Planning and Surveying, Aaron Nyangu, it is the culmination of years of training, experience and hard work that he is now passing on to the next generation of mining engineers. “I feel proud to see those celebrities wearing our emeralds from Kagem. It’s a great feeling,” said Mr Nyangu enthusiastically. “I call Kagem the place where I grew up. I’ve grown up with the pit. I came here when I was in my early 30s, brought here by the then general manager. Prior to 2008 when Gemfields took over from the predecessors, the pit was not as big as it is now. We used to move between 80,000 and 100,000 tonnes a month; now we are mo...

Gemfields launches global campaign on October 1 Gemfields, the world’s leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones, has launched a global advertising campaign to raise awareness of responsible sourcing in the coloured gemstone industry and promote Zambian emeralds. Zambian emeralds from its Kagem mine in Lufwanyama. Gemfields believes that coloured gemstones should be mined and marketed by championing three key values – transparency, integrity and legitimacy – and seeks to challenge itself and the sector by setting new benchmarks for responsible sourcing. The campaign was designed to bring these core values and Gemfields’ associated initiatives to life, highlighting the breadth of activities involved in responsibly supplying coloured gemstones to global markets. “We wanted to bring to life the many stories behind responsibly sourcing precious gemstones in Africa as there is far more to our business than industry-leading mining and geology”, explains Emi...