Fura to Acquire Australian Mining Company

The deal includes 73 sapphire mining leases in Central Queensland.

Brecken Branstrator brecken.branstrator@nationaljeweler.com

Fura Gems will acquire Great Northern Mining and its 73 sapphire mining leases.

Toronto—Fura Gems is slated to buy Australian mining company Great Northern Mining.

The company has entered into a share sale agreement through its Australian subsidiary Capricorn Sapphire Pty worth nearly A$3 million (about $2.1 million).

The deal includes 73 sapphire mining leases in Central Queensland, at an area approximately 850 kilometers (about 528 miles) northwest of Brisbane.

They comprise a block of contiguous licenses measuring 15.2 square kilometers (just under 6 square miles) and share a common boundary at the east side with Fura’s existing Capricorn sapphire mining license.

The deal also includes some buildings, plants, fixtures, tools and other equipment.

A shot of Great Northern’s mining area in Queensland
Great Northern Mining produces a variety of sapphires—blue, blue-green, yellow and “parti” sapphires, or consisting of multiple colors.

Fura said after the acquisition it will work on a detailed geological evaluation to assess the scale-up of production at the site.

Additionally, it will work on a marketing strategy for Australian sapphires and aim to launch the product early next year.

Great Northern and Capricorn Sapphire together make the largest Australian sapphire supplier, according to Fura.

The deal is expected to close this month.

Great Northern’s mining areas produce blue-green sapphires, as pictured here, as well as blue, yellow and multi-colored, or “parti,” sapphires.
As for Fura’s Capricorn project, the acquisition of which was completed in January, mining exploration and rehabilitation activities have been operational throughout the pandemic—with appropriate controls and restrictions in place—as Queensland was able to keep its case count in check.

Fura said it plans to scale up operations there in the fourth quarter.

Banner will be right here …

Brecken Branstratoris the senior editor, gemstones at National Jeweler, covering sourcing, pricing and other developments in the colored stone sector.

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