STAY INFORMED

1.   World-class emerald specimens are exceedingly rare and significant, new discoveries of connoisseur-quality, gem-bearing mineral specimens are known to create shockwaves around the globe. Hold on to your hats!

•   Over the past six months, Gemfields, Plc and the Collector's Edge Minerals, Inc. have mined and prepared a group of absolutely breathtaking, vibrant-green, emerald specimens from the Kagem Emerald Mine in north-central Zambia. These superb specimens will be available to collectors, for the first time, at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show-2009.

1.   Over the past three decades,Zambia has become an important, gemstone-quality, emerald producing country. The mines of the Kafubu mining district annually produce 15-20% of the world's emeralds and Zambia is believed to rank second to Colombia in gemstone value produced annually. The yearly production is estimated to be worth between $100 million and $200 million USD.

2.   Suprisingly, until now, no collector-quality emerald specimens from the Kafubu mining district have been known.

1.   Gemfields, PLC recognized that the emerald-bearing quartz veins at the Kagem Mine had the potential to yield Emerald specimens with exceptional quality, color, and aesthetics. In 2008, an unusually thick zone of quartz was discovered. The zone yielded three significant pieces of quartz ranging in size from 2 kg to 35 kg. Safely contained within the quartz were several gem quality emerald crystals.
3.   The Zambian crystals exhibit an intense classic emerald-green color, have outstanding luster, feature exceptional gemminess and occur in wonderfully contrasting white quartz or black phlogopite mica. Perhaps, the most mind-blowing attribute about these emeralds is that they can be HUGE! To date, we have seen crystals up to 10 cm in length and 2.5 cm in width. These amazing Emerald specimens are certain to be an instant hit with collectors!
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2.   In February 2009, Gemfields approached the Collector's Edge Minerals, Inc. of Golden, Colorado to help them prepare and market the newly discovered emerald treasures. In March 2009, Collector's Edge reviewed these specimens and together with gemfields developed a plan to collect, prepare, and market world-class specimens from the Kagem mine.

  Collector's Edge visited the Kagem mine and introduced gemfields to advanced mineral specimen collecting techniques, which would help ensure the recovery of future top-quality emerald specimens. The mine is now using these techniques to collect specimens thus saving valuable gem rough in the mining process.

  Collector's Edge uses its advanced specimen preparation techniques to unlock these beautiful emerald crystals from their protective quartz matrix. Without the thick quartz coatings these amazing specimens would not have been preserved. Removing the quartz is time consuming and demanding, but is yielding breathtaking results.

  Collector's Edge is the world-wide distributor for these fantastic, new emerald specimens bringing these important and highly-collectable mineral specimens to natural history museums, private collectors and investors around the world.

  Emerald mineralization in the Kafubu area occurs in mica-rich reaction zones (2 meters wide) along contacts of pegmatites and quartz-tourmaline veins with the host Talc-Magnetite Schist. The schist contains 3000-4000 ppm of Chromium, providing the amount of Chromium necessary for the rich-green color of the emeralds. The quartz-tourmaline veins and pegmatite dikes in the Kafubu area are genetically related to a granite pluton at depth.

•   The Kagem Emerald Mine, the world's largest emerald producing mine, covers and area of approximately one square kilometer. Within the mine there are six known belts of Talc-Magnetite Schist with over 13 km strike length. One of these belts, the Fwaya Fwaya-Pirala belt, is the main area of the current emerald extraction. This belt has a drill core established strike length of 1720 meters.

  Potassium/Argon dating of the muscovite associated with emerald (beryl) crystal growth in the Kafubu reaction zones suggest an age of crystallization of approximately 450 million years ago.

•   Gem-quality emeralds from the Kafubu area occur in medium to dark green color. Emerald specimens occur in two distinct environments. Reaction zone areas with relatively less quartz contain a solid phlogopite (black) mica matrix within which emeralds are imbedded. The mica-rich reaction zone is 5 cm to 20 cm thick. Emeralds range in quality from gem clear to almost completely replaced with mica. Specimens from this quartz deficient zone are referred to as "Mica Schist Hosted".

  Some portions of the reaction zones are much wider than the mica-rich areas. These wider areas form voids or pockets where large emeralds can form. Quartz flooding within the reaction zones fills these pockets thus proctecting any emeralds that may have formed within them. The pockets can reach over 30 cm in width. Emeralds within these quart-protected pockets are typically of extreme high quality as they contain few mica inclusions. Emerald specimens from this quartz-rich zone are referred to as "Quartz Hosted".

  The discovery of emerald mineralization in the Kafubu area was made by the Rhodesia Congo Border Concession Co. at the Miku locality in 1928. Early production was not very promising and it was not until new deposits were discovered in the 1970's that gemstone exploration and production exploded. At that time, because of the many new emerald discoveries and extensive illigal mining, the Zambian government established the area as a "restricted zone". Highly mechanized commercial mining has been ongoing in the Kafubu mining district ever since. Gemfields Plc was contracted to manage the Kagem Mine in November 2007. In June 2008, Gemfields' acquired a 75% stake in the Kagem Mine. Gemfields' average gemstone production in the year ending June 30, 2009 was 2.3 million carats per month.

  These spectacular EMERALD specimens will be available for the first time at the Denver Gem and Mineral Show - September 18, 19, 20 - 2009. You will not want to miss the debut of these sparkling, emerald green treasures. Plan on making the Collector's Edge (Room #J-36 and J-38) your FIRST STOP at this year's Denver Show!