The value of ruby exports stood at 5.2 million dollars in the first quarter of this year, representing an 80 per cent drop compared to the same period in 2023, when the figure stood at 25.6 million dollars.
According to the report on the balance of payments, drawn up by the Bank of Mozambique, the situation was due to various factors, including the instability experienced in the province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, which has been affected by terrorism for more than six years.
“The reduction in exports is linked to low production levels at the largest producer of this mineral (Montepuez Ruby Mining), breakdowns in production equipment and military instability in the north of the country,” the central bank said.
In May, the budget execution report revealed that ruby production in Mozambique stood at 252,600 carats in the first quarter of this year, a drop of 55 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, when production stood at 567,400 carats.
The document drawn up by the Ministry of Economy and Finance explained that this underperformance represents 8 per cent of the forecast for the whole year. Overall, ruby production in the country had already fallen in 2023, to 2.7 million car ats, compared to 4.2 million carats in 2022 and 5 million carats in 2021.
In April, the British company Gemfields announced that the exploitation of rubies at the MRM mine, located in the province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, had already yielded a billion dollars (63.2 billion meticals) since 2012, pointing out that in 2023, in particular, the mining company had obtained total revenue of 151.3 million dollars (9.5 billion meticals).
“Since Gemfields acquired 75 per cent of MRM in February 2012 (the year mining began, with ruby auctions starting two years later), that mine has accumulated revenues of more than one billion dollars, having paid the state 257.4 million dollars (16.2 billion meticals) in the same period,” it said in a statement.
MRM, which is also 25% owned by Mwiriti Limitada (a Mozambican company), paid the state 53.2 million dollars (3.3 billion meticals) in royalties and taxes last year.
Montepuez Ruby Mining is a Mozambican company that operates a ruby deposit of approximately 33,600 hectares. “It is believed to be the most significant ruby deposit recently discovered in the world. It will have created more than 1,500 jobs locally, 95 per cent of which will be for Mozambicans, with 65 per cent coming from Cabo Delgado.”
Gemfields is a world leader in the responsible mining and marketing of coloured gemstones and, in addition to MRM, it operates and owns 75% of the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, described as “the largest emerald mine in the world”. It also holds bulk sampling licences in Ethiopia.
