Fura Gems Acquires Coscuez Emerald Mine in Colombia

Toronto--Fura Gems has entered into an agreement that will see it take ownership of the Coscuez emerald mine in Colombia.

The gemstone mining company announced Sunday that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with Emporium in which Fura has agreed to purchase 76 percent of shares of Esmeracol S.A. from the latter for $10.2 million.

Emporium will continue to hold a 21.71 percent interest in Esmeracol, with the remaining 2.29 percent belonging to minority shareholders.

The deal is expected to be completed on or before Dec.15.

Fura Gems used to be known as Fura Emeralds. Former Gemfields COO Dev Shetty joined the team in mid-January as president and CEO, when the company already had an emerald exploration license in Colombia, but it changed its name to Fura Gems in February to reflect an expansion of the business beyond emeralds.

The company Fura Gems just bought a majority stake in Esmeracol, owns the mining license for Cosuez, the renowned emerald mine located in the Boyacá state of Colombia.

Covering an area of 46 hectares (almost 114 acres), Coscuez has been the source for some of the finest emeralds in the world. It has been operated largely on a small-scale basis up to now, but Fura said it will modernize the mine, with the goal of ramping up production of emeralds within six months of the deal closing.

Its short-term plan will focus on improving the mine’s infrastructure and developing safe and effective operations, including the construction of a 1/7 gradient, positive and negative ramp system as well as horizontal tunnel construction to optimize access to the orebody and allow for the modernization of the extraction process.

Shetty told National Jeweler that they can’t yet give specific numbers on production goals.

“The current operation in Colombia is on small-scale basis due to need to improve the geological understanding and improve the mining method,” he said. “As we start getting ourselves into the ground we will be able to give more clarity on the numbers.

“We plan to expand the current underground shaft and create safer environment for employees. We also will build a new decline once we have received the necessary approval from the relevant authorities. The production will be definitely significantly more than the current levels.”

The plan is to start selling rough within 18 to 24 months. The rough emeralds will be sold via organized platforms, mainly via auction, Shetty said.