Gemfields, one of the world’s leading coloured gemstone producers, has announced the discovery of a 6225 carat rough emerald at its Kagem mine in Zambia.
The emerald was recovered during normal mining operations last month and is now being examined by Gemfields’ experts to “establish a clearer understanding of its value and significance”.
In the meantime the emerald has been named ‘Insofu’, which means ‘elephant’ in the language of the region’s indigenous Bemba people, due to its size and in honour of the World Land Trust’s ‘Wild Lands Elephant Corridor Project’ which Gemfields supports.
Announcing the “unique find”, Gemfields CEO Ian Harebottle said the Insofu displays wonderful colour and good translucency.
“Its sheer size, rich colour and fine protective biotite shell make it difficult to see deep into the gem, however, all indications suggest that the core of the emerald is competent and that it should yield a number of cut gems of significant size.”