Sourcing

Fura Completes Acquisition of Australian Sapphire Project

SourcingJan 13, 2020

Fura Completes Acquisition of Australian Sapphire Project

It rounds out the “big three” in the company’s mining portfolio.

20200113_Capricorn-sapphires.jpg
Fura Gems completed its acquisition of the Capricorn sapphire mining project in Queensland, Australia. Seen here are sapphires mined from the area.

Toronto—Fura Gems announced it completed the acquisition of a sapphire mining project in Australia on Dec. 31, rounding out the “big three” in the company’s mining portfolio.

The company purchased Richland Resources Ltd.’s wholly owned subsidiary, Richland Corporate Ltd.

The subsidiary owns 100 percent of Capricorn Sapphire Pty Ltd, comprising two mining permits and three mining licenses in Queensland, Australia.

Capricorn had already been producing sapphires, but Richland halted production in Dec. 2017 due to “extreme weather conditions and a weak market environment,” it said at the time.

When Fura announced the deal with Richland Resources last summer, CEO Dev Shetty said the company would more clearly delineate the deposit during the second half of 2019, followed by a scale-up of operations this year.

Fura Gems already holds mining assets in Colombia, with the Coscuez emerald mine, and Mozambique, with its Montepuez ruby mining project.

It also is currently in the process of completing the purchase and sale of interests in three additional ruby prospecting licenses/concessions in Mozambique.

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