After suspending mining operations this year, Greenland Ruby hopes to resume production at its Aappaluttoq deposit in 2025 – once the company has sold its current stock.
Greenland Ruby’s success “depended on good mining, but more importantly on good sales,” says Arnt-Eirik Rørnes, who was appointed CEO of the miner in January.
“What we learned was that mining was going well, but we were just accumulating stock. Basically, the management and owners decided that it was time to hold the mine and focus on sales.
“That basically means we have to restructure the project. We started shutting down the mine in December. We still had people on site for care and maintenance and, of course, for security. But we left the site in August.
While sales of its rubies and sapphires have improved dramatically this year, “we still see that we have stock until at least 2025,” says Rørnes. “We have taken the decision not to mine this year and not to mine next year. And then there will be a discussion about what to do in 2025. But that’s all dependent on the sales figures. The focus now is on building up working capital.
“It is not healthy to just keep on mining,” he adds. “You have to get your market going. We are looking at the future of the mine in terms of 12 months of continuous operation in very, very harsh conditions. We are looking more at ‘campaign mining’ – three or four months of mining – and the rest of the time focused on sales.
From a market perspective, “the challenge that Greenland Ruby faced, particularly in the US market, is that we were the first mine to be certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council,” says Michele Billam, Greenland Ruby’s chief sales and merchandising officer. “And with that came a lot of responsibility and certification. That was part of the initial slow approach to the market because we felt that was something we wanted to focus on and offer.”
It was also “difficult to break into what’s considered a very saturated market as a new source,” Billam adds. “Nobody expected there to be a mine in Greenland with rubies and sapphires.”
The company is still “fine-tuning” its go-to-market strategy, which will mean less focus on high-end stones and more sales of commercial goods, she says.
She notes that the company has had success selling jewellery in its boutique in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, and may extend this model elsewhere.
“We plan to sell stones within merchandise and continue with our loose stone strategy,” she says.
