American Gem Corp. -- Enters international sapphire markets with agreement to purchase Australian sapphire.HELENA Helena. 1 Town (1990 pop. 7,491), seat of Phillips co., E central Ark., on the Mississippi River and at the southern end of Crowley's Ridge; inc. 1833. , Mont.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 1995--American Gem Corp. announced Monday Monday: see week. that it has signed a purchase contract for rough sapphire with Great Northern Mining Corp. N.L., an Australian Australian pertaining to or originating in Australia. Australian bat lyssavirus disease see Australian bat lyssavirus disease. Australian cattle dog a medium-sized, compact working dog used for control of cattle. company which operates significant sapphire mining operations in several Australian states Noun 1. Australian state - one of the several states constituting Australia province, state - the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation; "his state is in the deep south" and controls a large percentage of the identified Queensland Queensland, state (1991 pop. 2,477,152), 667,000 sq mi (1,727,200 sq km), NE Australia. Brisbane is the capital; other important cities are Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville, Rockhampton, Cairns, and Ipswich. sapphire resources. The purchase contract allows American Gem to purchase 50 percent of Great Northern's monthly production from its Queensland based mining operation. American Gem has determined that its proprietary heat processing technology is very effective in creating high quality sapphires from this material. Public documents filed by Great Northern estimate sapphire resources in its Queensland operation at more than 400,000,000 carats, making that deposit, as far as American Gem is aware, the largest identified sapphire resource in the world. The contract with Great Northern allows American Gem to purchase, on a monthly basis, 50 percent of the rough sapphire produced from Great Northern's existing Queensland operation. The purchase price for rough sapphire under the contract will be at prevailing market prices. Price review will be undertaken at six monthly intervals. In addition to the 50 percent of monthly mine production covered by the purchase agreement, American Gem has a right of first refusal Right of First Refusal In general, the right of a person or company to purchase something before the offering is made available to others. Notes: For example, a football team may have the right of first refusal on a player's contract. at market price for that portion of each month's production that is not used by Great Northern. American Gem's 50 percent share of 1995 production from Great Northern's Queensland operation is estimated at 3,000,000 carats. This annual share of production is expected to increase to around 9,000,000 carats during the next 3 years. American Gem Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Greg Dahl dahl n. 1. See pigeon pea. 2. or dal A thick creamy East Indian stew made with lentils or other legumes, onions, and various spices. noted that the Company's current technology allows substantial improvement in the quality of approximately 28 percent of the rough sapphires produced from the Great Northern Queensland operation. "However," Dahl said, "we have not pursued a research program on these stones, and I believe that our process may ultimately be able to substantially improve the quality of a higher percentage of the sapphires recovered." Queensland has historically produced large quantities of sapphires in a variety of colors not of the white race; - commonly meaning, esp. in the United States, of negro blood, pure or mixed. See also: Color including deep blue. Australian sapphire deposits have traditionally supplied the majority of commercial value sapphires for world markets. The Company's heat treatment technology results in much lighter stones that have an attractive blue color and, as a result, a much higher value. American Gem Chairman and CEO Greg Dahl stated, "This agreement for the purchase of Australian sapphire from Great Northern, coupled with our leading edge heat treatment technology, opens the door to a new era in sapphire production and sales for American Gem. American Gem will now have available large quantities of dramatically improved sapphire from this Australian deposit, as well as sapphires from our great Montana deposits. American Gem is clearly poised to become one of the world's largest marketers of quality sapphire gem stones." CONTACT: American Gem Corp. Gregory Dahl, 406/442-4000, 406/442-4096 (Fax) |
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