Gemfields makes decision over ruby mining after groups ‘took advantage’ of situation to try to invade its site. The London-listed mining company Gemfields said it had temporarily halted its ruby mining operation in Mozambique after groups “took advantage” of political unrest to set fire and attempt to invade its site, resulting in two fatalities.
Gemfields, one of the world’s largest miners of coloured gemstones, said that more than 200 people associated with illegal ruby mining attempted to invade the residential village built by the company next to its Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) operation in northern Mozambique on Christmas Eve.
The company, which is incorporated in Guernsey and is listed on the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges, said that the groups were trying to take advantage of the widespread civil unrest after the controversial and disputed recent national election.
Gemfields said in a statement on Friday that looters set fire to community buildings built by MRM and that security forces, made up of the Mozambican police and the military, protected the residential village in a “staged escalation of force” that resulted in two individuals being shot and killed.
On the same day, a vocational training centre built by MRM, and operated by Mozambique’s Institute for Vocational Training and Labor Studies, in the nearby village of Wikupuri was looted and damaged. The unrest resulted in Gemfields temporarily relocating some of its more than 500 employees, halting its operation since Christmas Eve, but it began a phased return of staff on Thursday.
