Emerald miner Gemfields Resources says a 10,050 carat stone has been discovered at its Mbuva-Chibolele mine in Zambia.

The emerald, a 10cm-long hexagonal crystal, was mined about 40 metres below the surface. The AIM-quoted company, which has extracted nearly £1 million in revenue from Mbuva-Chibolele since July last year, will not suggest how much this stone is worth before it is professionally valued, but some observers suggest it could be in the region of £75,000.

Gemfields, founded by vice-chairman Rajiv Gupta from India’s leading emerald-trading clan, has two producing Zambian mines at present. The shares, floated at 45p in late 2005, made it to 52.5p last November before halving to 24.5p this month.

This latest emerald find has already sent them 5p up to 29.5p so far today, valuing the company at £30.9m. If the company’s mines can consistently produce more high-value stones, they might go further.

Gemfields Resources	AIM	£98.93m	32.00p	0.00p
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Gemfields finds large stone			20/08/2007