Richland Resources Ltd is a gemstone mining, development and exploration company who are listed on the London Stock Exchanges

AIM market AIM (formerly the Alternative Investment Market) is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange that was launched on 19 June 1995 as a replacement to the previous Unlisted Securities Market (USM) that had been in operation since 1980. It allows ...

. (AIM:RLD) Richlands developed and operated TanzaniteOne Mining Ltd – the world's largest

tanzanite Tanzanite is the blue and violet variety of the mineral zoisite (a calcium aluminium hydroxyl sorosilicate), caused by small amounts of vanadium. Tanzanite belongs to the epidote mineral group. Tanzanite is only found in Simanjiro District of ...

gemstone mining company, based in Merelani,

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

from August 2004 until March 2015. The Company also developed a beneficiation division for the sale and export of cut gemstones while establishing a multi-level sales system for retailing ethically sourced gemstones to corporate and individual buyers. Richlands revenue peaked in 2004 at US$22.4 million. Richland Resources sold TanzaniteOne Mining to Dyumna Mining Industries Ltd. in February 2015. Richlands is also responsible for creating the Tanzanite Foundation in 2003 – a non profit organisation which is devoted to the education and promotion of the relatively new gemstone tanzanite. The Tanzanite Foundation also fundraised and facilitated for multiple community projects around the tanzanite mining area, including the building of new schools, scholarship programs and the building and up keep of a safe public road to the mining area. In 2015 Richlands entered into a new phase of operations at the Capricorn Sapphire mine site, located in central

Queensland, Australia Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

. With first production dated May 15, 2015 the company's strategy is to focus on the development of the Capricorn Sapphire mine as a new hub for ethically mined sapphire. The majority of Richlands sapphire are sold in bulk as rough, unpolished stones through a

De Beers The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

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sightholder The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pi ...

system. Richlands operate an online retail store, RichlandGemstones.com, which sells Australian

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

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gemstones and jewellery. Richlands tanzanite is sourced directly from their former mine, TanzaniteOne. The sapphires – which are typically "fancy sapphires" the name given to green, yellow and multi coloured sapphires – are mined by the company at Capricorn Sapphire Mine. The online store was previously named tanzaniteoneonline.com and was launched by Richlands in 2013.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.richlandresourcesltd.com
Online Gemstone Store
Mining companies of the United Kingdom Mines in Tanzania Gemstone mines