Initial emerald production and start of bulk sampling program at the Coscuez emerald mine

Posted by Daniel Gleeson on 23rd March 2018

Fura Gems Inc has commenced its bulk sampling program at the Coscuez emerald project in Boyacá, Colombia.

  • Fura owns a 76% beneficial interest in the Coscuez Emerald Mine which covers a total area of 46 ha
  • The program has been initiated and a total of 30,000 t of material from the mineralized body is expected to be collected in the first phase of the program on or before 31 December 2018 using existing tunnels
  • The main purpose is to collect the most representative samples from the mineralized body at different levels from all accessible tunnels and workings within the Coscuez emerald mine
  • Data collected from the program will then be modelled to permit Fura to better understand the mineralized grade and prepare a mining plan
  • During the initial phase of bulk sampling, a total of 1,720 ct of emeralds were mined, out of which 826 ct were high quality emeralds
  • Since February 2018, the company has been upgrading the safety standards at the Coscuez mine to create a safe environment for the commencement of the bulk sampling program
  • Detailed geological and topographic survey programs have been initiated and to date, 24 historical workable tunnels, consisting of 17 km, have been surveyed and mapped out of 23 km
  • The Fura management team has started designing the pilot wash-plant to support the bulk sampling process with a rated capacity of 30 t/h and expects such plant to be commissioned on or before 30 June 2018.

Dev Shetty, President & CEO of Fura, commented: “Fura has achieved an important milestone by commencing the bulk sampling mining operation at the Coscuez emerald mine within eight weeks of the completing the acquisition of the mine.

“The initial production of 1,720 ct of emeralds, including 826 ct of top quality emeralds, during the early stage of the program further confirms the quality of the Coscuez emerald mine. We will continue to build our geological knowledge of the license area and also strive to modernize the Coscuez emerald mine. Fura has now become the first publicly listed company in the world to commence a bulk sampling operation in Colombia, the world’s largest supplier of emeralds.”