(Bloomberg) ? TanzaniteOne Ltd., owner of the largest source of tanzanite, a blue-violet gemstone rarer than diamonds, posted a first-half loss after it quit jewellery manufacturing and recovered fewer gem-quality stones.

The company lost $187,105, or 0.25 cent a share, compared with net income of $7.2 million, or 9.59 cents, a year earlier, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said in a Regulatory News Service statement last week. Sales dropped 27 percent to $16.3 million.

TanzaniteOne owns the Merelani mine in Tanzania. The company made a $2.8 million provision following its withdrawal from wholesale jewellery.

It processed 7,605 metric tons of ore, 37 percent down from a year earlier. It recovered 570,405 carats, up 1 percent. The company received an average price of $9.63 a carat, down 26 percent.