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By Karen Rebelo
Sept 15 (Reuters) - Precious stones miner Gemfields Plc has formed a joint venture to mine sapphires in SriLanka as part of its long-held ambition to become the De Beersof the global coloured stones market.
Gemfields already mines emeralds in Zambia and rubies inMozambique, and this venture will allow it to complete whatChief Executive Ian Harebottle calls the "traffic light ofcoloured stones" - emerald, rubies and sapphires: red, green andblue.
The miner, which owns luxury jewellery brand Faberge, saidon Monday it would hold a 75 percent stake in the joint venturewith East West Gem Investments Ltd (EWGI), a company registeredin Jersey, the Channel Islands.
The London-listed company, which produces about a fifth ofthe world's rough emeralds, said it paid $400,000 to acquire 75percent operating interests in 16 exploration licences, coveringdiverse minerals.
"A relatively small consideration for Gemfields, but apositive development exposing the company to a greater diversityof precious stones to market," Investec Securities analyst MarcElliot said.
The joint venture will also include creating a gemstonetrading company, called Ratnapura Lanka Gemstones Pvt Ltd, thatwill focus on sourcing rough sapphires from the local market.
Sri Lanka is a key source of sapphires of all colours isknown for the highly sought-after padparadscha sapphire.
Gemfields aspires to create a stable market for colouredstones and polish their image in the same way that AngloAmerican Plc's De Beers unit has long championeddiamonds from London's Bond Street to China.
Gemfields's shares were up 2 percent at 48.66 pence on theLondon Stock Exchange at 1030 GMT on Monday. (Reporting by Karen Rebelo in Bangalore; Editing by GopakumarWarrier and Savio D'Souza)
