True North Gems independent “cut” valuation results for ruby
Vancouver, January 17, 2008:
True North Gems (TGX: TSX-V) is pleased to announce independent wholesale market price valuation results for cut and polished stones from the Company’s 30 tonne 2006 ruby and pink sapphire bulk sample. The valuations have been estimated for a statistically representative sample (a 1/8th split) of faceted and cabochon ruby and pink sapphire recovered from the 30 tonne Aappaluttoq bulk sample collected as part of the 2006 exploration program at the Company’s 823 km2 Fiskenaesset Ruby Project located on the west coast of Greenland.
Ruby and Pink Sapphire “cut” valuation results
The cut stone valuations are based on a second representative sample, different from the one used for the rough stone valuations (see press release January 16, 2008). This second sample originally consisted of a 16.2 kilogram parcel (a 1/8th split) of gem and near-gem ruby and pink sapphire recovered from the Aappaluttoq 2006 bulk sample. This sample was processed to remove any excess waste material to produce a 11.2 kilogram parcel of “clean marketable rough” ruby and pink sapphire.
The 11.2 kilogram sample was sent to a cutting facility in Sri Lanka for fashioning into faceted and cabochon rubies and pink sapphires which resulted in 5,224.10 total carats of faceted and cabochon gems (9.3 percent yield). No enhancements such as heat treatment or flux filling have been applied to either the clean marketable rough, or the final cabochon or faceted ruby and pink sapphire gems that were the subject of this valuation, and as such the cut sample represents a natural finished product.. When cutting and polishing was complete, the finished material was sorted by size, colour, and clarity by gemmologists in True North’s Vancouver office and then sent for independent valuation by a qualified gemmologist.
Independent cut stone “wholesale market price valuations” were completed on a representative split of faceted and cabochon rubies and pink sapphires from the 2006 Aappaluttoq bulk sample.
Value of Rubies
A total value of US$123,266 has been assigned to the entire 5,224.10 carat parcel of ruby and pink sapphire (US$ 23.60 per carat) with a total value of US$ 26,188 assigned to 471.83 carats of faceted ruby and pink sapphire ($US 55.5 per carat). Values for faceted rubies average US$73.60 per carat.
Wholesale market price values range from US $15 per carat for lower quality ruby and pink sapphire to US $150 per carat for higher value pink sapphire and US $300 per carat for higher value ruby.
Projected total wholesale market price value for the 30 tonne bulk sample is estimated to be US$986,131 if the entire recovered clean marketable concentrate for the 2006 Aappaluttoq bulk sample had been cut, polished, and valued.
Information about True North Gems and the Fiskenaesset Ruby Project, including photos and videos, can be viewed at the Company’s website www.truenorthgems.com or at www.sedar.com.