DIAMOND PAGE — American Gem inks distribution deal

Toronto-based American Gem (GEM-V) has signed an agreement granting Gupta Gemhouse the right to become the exclusive distributor of its existing sapphire inventory and future production from the Gem Mountain property in Montana.

The stockpiled sapphires will be heat-treated in the U.S. and sent to Gupta Gemhouse’s facilities in India for sorting, cutting and finishing.

American Gem estimates that its stockpiles will produce about 2 million carats of rough sapphire, or 200,000 carats of finished sapphire. The company’s Gem Mountain project is reported to host a resource estimated at 47.7 million carats of sapphire in a deposit with little overburden.

Vic Alboini, chairman of American Gem, called the agreement with Gupta Gemhouse “a step in the right direction” to solve the company’s ongoing problem of not being able to sell enough sapphire to cover mining and related costs. The end product will be sold under the trademark American Sapphire. Gupta’s managing director describes the stones as “very marketable, especially in the United States.”