UK 22:18 Friday, 23 October 2026
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AIM favourite Richland Resources (RLD) is now producing sapphires from its Capricorn mine in Queensland and expects to hold its first sales of blue and coloured gemstones in Hong Kong next month. After a long process of transformation, the company, chaired by veteran mining entrepreneur Ed Nealon (of Aquarius Platinum fame), argues Capricorn, part of Australia’s Nardoo gem deposit and currently boasting a formal resource of 21.6 million grammes or 109 million carats, has ‘the potential to become the world’s largest sapphire mine’, citing surveys showing average sapphire prices have risen 75% over the past decade.
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Comments
martin ashworth
Yes Bernard Olivier, who is a very competent Geologist & Miner, has pulled a real rabbit out of the hat with Richland. We still don’t know the full scale of the resource or the likely grades, but the numbers from the previous ownrs of the mine looked pretty impressive. In its previous incarnation of Tanzanite One, this company looked as though it was going bust. Olivier has got out of horribly corrupt Tanzania , taken $5m in cash with Richalnd out of the country and set up a debt free new Aussie Sapphire Operation. All plant and machinery are paid for and the distribution channel will shortly be in place. IN short, Richland is now at the “Sweet Spot” of mining, with production just started and revenue from sales about to come in after the Hong Kong Sight Auction on 27th June 2015. with only 217million shares in issue (& no need for further cash raises) this looks very promising, onproduction alone, without potential bid interest from the likes of Gemfields or De Beers etc.