Coloured gemstone miner Gemfields has appointed former De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver as chair and independent non-executive director from July 1.
“Bruce’s reputation as a pre-eminent leader is well documented and he brings considerable experience of mining gemstones in Africa and marketing them internationally,” Gemfields said in a statement on Tuesday.
Cleaver was previously CEO and co-chair of De Beers Group, the world’s leading diamond company. He replaces Martin Tolcher, who has stepped away from the company after 15 years as a board member and almost five years as chair.
Commenting on his appointment, Cleaver said that
“Gemfields is a unique and extraordinary business, one that has taken a fragmented and fairly informal industry to considerable sophistication as the first consistent supplier of significant quantities of coloured gemstones in a responsible and transparent manner.
“The parallels with De Beers’ origins and how consistent and reliable supply can deliver remarkable industry growth and positive contributions to communities, are clear to all. The coloured gemstone market has long- transcended the arrival of their lab-grown counterparts, with lab-grown rubies having been around for more than 120 years.”
Cleaver said he was excited about his appointment as Gemfields prepares for its next stage of growth, including the construction of a new processing plant — tripling throughput capacity — at the world’s leading ruby mine, Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM), which is on schedule for completion during the first half of 2025.
Gemfields also named Simon Scott as independent non-executive director and Kieran Daly as non-executive director. Kwape Mmela, Gemfields' independent non-executive director, will become lead independent non-executive director and join the audit committee with effect from July 1, the company said.
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