FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WITH PICTURES

Gemfields announces new Chair and directors 

London, June 13 2024 – Gemfields, which owns 75% of the Kagem emerald mine in Lufwanyama, Zambia, is pleased to announce changes to the Board of Gemfields, due to take effect on 1 July 2024, following a broad search for both a new Chair and Non-Executive Directors.

Gemfields owns Kagem in partnership with the Zambian government’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which owns 25% and has representation on the Kagem board.

Appointment of Bruce Cleaver as Chair and Independent Non-Executive Director

Bruce Cleaver will join Gemfields’ Board as Chair and Independent Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2024. Bruce will also become Chair of the Nomination Committee.

Bruce’s reputation as a preeminent leader is well documented and he brings considerable experience of mining gemstones in Africa and marketing them internationally. Bruce was previously Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chair of De Beers Group, the world’s leading diamond company.

Martin Tolcher, the outgoing Chair, commented:

“After 15 years as a member of Gemfields’ Board and approaching 5 years as Chair, the time has come for me to step away from the Company in order to bolster Board independence. I am truly delighted to have such a remarkable successor in Bruce and am confident that Gemfields will go from strength to strength under his stewardship.”

Bruce Cleaver, the incoming Chair, commented:

“First and most importantly, I would like to convey my thanks and congratulations to Martin for his significant contribution to Gemfields, both as a Board member since 2008 and as Chair since 2019. He has played an invaluable role from Gemfields’ humble beginnings to it being, today, the world’s leading coloured gemstone company.

“Gemfields is a unique and extraordinary business, one that has taken a fragmented and fairly informal industry to considerable sophistication as the first consistent supplier of significant quantities of coloured gemstones in a responsible and transparent manner. The parallels with De Beers’ origins and how consistent and reliable supply can deliver remarkable industry growth and positive contributions to communities, are clear to all. The coloured gemstone market has long- transcended the arrival of their lab-grown counterparts, with lab-grown rubies having been around for more than 120 years.

“I am excited and enthused to take on the role of Chair of Gemfields’ Board and look forward to working with Sean, David and the Gemfields team as we prepare the Company for its next stage of growth, including by way of the construction of a new processing plant – tripling throughput capacity – at the world’s leading ruby mine, MRM, and which is on schedule for completion during the first half of 2025.”

Appointment of Simon Scott as Independent Non-Executive Director

Simon Scott will join Gemfields’ Board as Independent Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2024. Simon will join the Audit Committee and the Nomination Committee and will also Chair the Risk Council.

Simon has had an illustrious career with extensive experience on public company boards in both executive and non-executive roles during a long career in mining and finance. Simon was previously Chief Financial Officer of Lonmin plc, the LSE listed platinum miner and is a non-executive director of First Quantum Minerals Ltd and Sylvania Platinum Ltd.

Appointment of Kieran Daly as Non-Executive Director

Kieran Daly will join Gemfields’ Board as Non-Executive Director on 1 July 2024. Kieran Daly is currently an alternate director to Patrick Sacco on the Gemfields Board. His disclosures under Schedule 2 (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies were included in his appointment announcement as an alternative director in November 2021.

Kieran is Managing Director of Assore International Holdings (which holds a 29.2% holding in Gemfields Group Limited and therefore he is not deemed independent) and, Executive: Growth & Strategic Development at Assore Holdings. Kieran has significant experience in mining across various geographies and commodities and holds board-level roles in other mining companies including at Atlantic Lithium Ltd.

Resignation of Martin Tolcher, Lumkile Mondi and Carel Malan

In Gemfields’ 2023 Notice of AGM, Martin Tolcher, Gemfields’ Chair, and Lumkile Mondi, Lead Independent Non-Executive Director, informed shareholders that they had entered their final terms in office on the Board and intended to ensure a smooth transition. Martin and Lumkile resign from Gemfields’ Board with effect from 1 July 2024 to allow the appointment of the new Chair and Non-Executive Directors.

Carel Malan also resigns from Gemfields’ Board with effect from 1 July 2024 in order to focus on his now permanent role at Ore & Metal Company Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of Assore Holdings.

Martin, Lumkile and Carel have all provided invaluable contributions to the Company during their respective tenures on Gemfields’ Board. Gemfields will formally thank them for their service at the upcoming AGM on 25 June 2024.

Other Board changes

Kwape Mmela, Gemfields’ Independent Non-Executive Director, Chair of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nomination Committee, will become Lead Independent Non- Executive Director and join the Audit Committee with effect from 1 July 2024.

New directors’ current and previous (held within the past five years) Board appointments

Bruce Cleaver – Directorships to disclose
Grantley House (Kent) Limited	Current
Vergelegen Wines (Pty) Ltd	Current
DBCM Holdings (Pty) Ltd	Former
De Beers Group	Former
De Beers PLC	Former
Debswana Diamond Company Proprietary Limited	Former
Element Six Abrasives Holdings Limited	Former
Element Six Holdings Limited	Former
Help2read	Former
Namdeb Holdings (Pty) Limited	Former

Simon Scott – Directorships to disclose
First Quantum Minerals Limited	Current
Sylvania Platinum Limited	Current
Anglogold Ashanti Holdings PLC	Former

Bruce (aged 59) and Simon (aged 66) do not hold any legal or beneficial direct or indirect interest in the ordinary shares of the Company.

There are no further disclosures to be made under Schedule 2 (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

– Ends-

CONTACT
Enquiries
Gillian Langmead
Langmead & Baker Ltd
Tel: +260 979 060705
info@langmead.com

Head office
Helena Choudhury
Head of PR and Communications
Tel: +44 (0)207 518 3420 / +44 (0)7493 237598
helena.choudhury@gemfields.com

Albertina Namburete 
PR Manager 
Tel: +44 (0)783 325 7387 
Albertina.namburete@gemfields.com

NOTES TO EDITORS 

Kagem Mining Limited responsible mining highlights 

• Kagem is committed to ensuring that the community continues to benefit positively from its operations through various sustainability programmes focused on alleviating poverty and aligned with government policies, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Vision 2030. 
• Up to December 2022, Kagem had spent USD 3 million on community projects, and has committed further. 
• Kagem constructed, expanded and rehabilitated 5 schools providing education to more than 2,000 students. 
• Kagem committed USD 345,000 on top of previous provisions of USD 345,000 in university scholarships in geology and mining engineering. 
• Kagem and Gemfields Foundation built and equipped two computer labs at Kapila Primary School and Chapula Secondary School. 
• Kagem constructed 1 fully equipped health centre, the Nkana Health Centre, serving a population of 10,000. 
• Kagem improved Chief Nkana and Chief Lumpuma’s palaces and rehabilitated 18.7km road connecting Chief Nkana and Chief Lumpuma’s chiefdoms. 
• Kagem provides support to 7 farming associations benefiting more than 100 farmers and their families. 
• Kagem supports the Zambian Carnivore Programme (ZCP) having committed a total of USD 400,000 since 2018 to 2027 and provided a one-off donation of USD 70,000 to the North Luangwa Conservation Programme (NLCP). 
• Kagem signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Zambia to fund the construction of the Chapula Polytechnic in Lufwanyama. 
• Kagem employs more than 1,500 people, of which, 94% are Zambian nationals. 

About Kagem Mining Limited

Kagem Mining Ltd, based in Lufwanyama, is believed to be the world’s single largest producing emerald mine. Kagem is 75% owned by Gemfields, in a model partnership with the Zambian government.
Kagem aims to emulate the values of Gemfields and operate in a way that contributes positively to the national economy, while taking a leading role in modernising the coloured gemstone sector and building sustainable livelihoods for the communities around the mine. Kagem believes that coloured gemstones should be mined and marketed by championing three key values –  transparency, legitimacy and integrity.
Gemfields is a world-leading responsible miner and marketer of coloured gemstones. In addition to Kagem, Gemfields is the operator and 75% owner of Montepuez Ruby Mining in Mozambique (at one of the most significant recently discovered ruby deposits in the world), as well as bulk sampling licences in Ethiopia, amongst others. 
Gemfields has developed a proprietary grading system and a pioneering auction and trading platform to provide a consistent supply of coloured gemstones to the global jewellery market.
Fabergé – an iconic name with an exceptional heritage – is a member of the Gemfields Group. The beauty of Fabergé’s designs and craftsmanship, helps to raise consumer awareness of responsibly mined coloured gemstones.
As well as supplying a significant share of the world’s rough rubies and emeralds, Gemfields initiates activations to build desire for coloured gemstones: for example, collaborations with international jewellery brands and other creative partners. Often surprising, unexpected and unique, these collaborations are chosen to promote consumer awareness and increase the appeal of coloured gemstones, raising their profile, and, in turn, providing greater benefit to their place of origin in Africa.

Gemfields: Gemfields.com | Investors | Foundation  | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Fabergé: Fabergé.com | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Kagem Mining: LinkedIn
Montepuez Ruby Mining: LinkedIn