Gemfields to restart Zambian emerald mine nearly a year after COVID-19 shutdown

Gemfields Group Ltd. will restart principal operations at its 75%-owned Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, which has been suspended since late March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mining Weekly reported Feb. 25.

The reboot process, expected to be complete by the second week of April, will start in the wash plant production area followed by the mining operations, the report said.

Despite the stoppage, Kagem Mining Ltd. reportedly avoided redundancies and paid its workforce 80% of their basic salaries.

Gemfields could not provide a timeline on the resumption of its regular emerald auctions, though it was able to hold a series of mini-auctions in the fourth quarter of 2020, the report said.

State-owned Industrial Development Corp. (Zambia) Ltd. owns the remaining 25% in Kagem.

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