Iridis, the world’s largest producer of high-quality tourmaline gemstones, announced the success of its first auction of tourmalines in Bangkok that took place from 21st thru 24th November 2023. The company was delighted with the positive response from the market for tourmalines. 58 companies attended the 4-day viewing event conducted by Bonas Group. The maiden auction showcased the largest collection of exceptional pink, green and bi-colour tourmalines using the first-ever tourmaline grading system for prospective buyers. 33 of the 35 schedules in total were sold to the highest bidder. 887kg of tourmalines of all qualities were on display of which 98 % was sold by value and 91 % by weight.
Cyrille Djankoff, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are excited to showcase some of the world’s finest rough tourmaline gemstones in Bangkok in November 2023. The auction is the culmination of 18 months of production from our Zambia operations, in a first of its kind grading system with 100% traceability.”
The next tender is scheduled to be held in the second quarter of 2024.
Iridis acquired the tourmaline mine in Zambia in 2022. The company is on a mission to create a fully transparent supply chain, with 100% traceability to its operations in Zambia, guaranteeing their ethical provenance. Its goal is to establish the Iridis tourmaline mine as an industry leader in responsible mining and to realign the gemstone-mining industry’s relationship with the earth from one of mere extraction to one of respectful reciprocity.
With these ambitions in mind, Iridis has identified the Standard for Responsible Mining, a comprehensive set of guidelines developed by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), as the global benchmark for best practice. The company is using IRMA’s Standard to guide its approach to environmental, social and governance policies, and intend to have an IRMA-approved auditor independently assess its operation against the Standard.
