Joint military and police forces protecting Gemfields’ Montepuez ruby mine (MRM) against attacks from rebels in Mozambique shot and killed two individuals involved in an attempt to invade the deposit.
On December 24, more than 200 people tried to break into a village Gemfields built to house its Montepuez workers. During their approach, the insurgents set fire to external structures the company constructed, which contained a community cashpoint, the miner said Friday. The attempted break-in took place following actions by groups associated with illegal mining and trading of rubies, who took advantage of political instability to cause trouble, setting fires and cutting off water supply to the area.
Mozambican police and military forces used a gradual escalation of force in an effort to protect the MRM village, during which they shot two people, who were later declared dead at the hospital in Montepuez, Gemfields explained. The attacks forced Gemfields to relocate some of its workers to offsite locations temporarily for safety purposes, and to halt operations.
On the same day, in a nearby village MRM built and operates, attackers looted and damaged the vocational training center, taking farming supplies the miner planned to distribute to more than 800 local farmers.
The disturbances to Gemfields’ ruby project come on the heels of its announcement last week that it would halt or sell other ventures amid market troubles to enable it to concentrate on its well-performing ruby operations.
Gemfields expects to return to normal operations at Montepuez before the end of the year, it added.
Image: Rough rubies. (Gemfields)
