Editor’s Note
This article details a significant expansion plan by Montepuez Ruby Mining in Mozambique, aiming to triple processing capacity with a €61.2 million investment.
Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) plans to triple the processing capacity at its ruby mine in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, to 600 tonnes per hour, a source from Gemfields told Lusa on Tuesday. The project involves an investment of €61.2 million (US$70 million).
When questioned by Lusa, Gemfields, which owns and operates the mine, acknowledged that the construction of the second ruby processing unit, known as PP2, at Montepuez represents a crucial project. The company stated it aims to increase the production of premium rubies and generate additional revenue for the group by the end of 2025. The unit is expected to be completed by the end of the first half of this year.
Gemfields owns 75% of MRM, which holds a concession area of 34,966 hectares, with the remaining 25% owned by the Mozambican company Mwiriti.
explained the source, looking ahead to the processing of the mine’s stock and the availability on the market of “rubies with additional variations in size and colour”.
The second unit also leaves open the possibility of expansion “to other mining areas” within the MRM concession, which currently employs 1,300 workers, 94% of whom are Mozambican.
said MRM’s managing director, Prahalad Kumar Singh.
Gemfields says the investment amounts to US$70 million (€61.2 million), excluding taxes and fees, of which US$60 million (€52.5 million) has already been invested. The company has plans to expand its mining portfolio by 2026.
When fully operational, the second processing plant “is expected to triple the processing rate and therefore significantly increase ruby production and revenue” from the Mozambican mine. This expansion comes at a time when the coloured gemstone market is expected to “recover and continue its upward trajectory in the medium–long term”.
the source concluded.
Gemfields is a British world leader in responsible mining and marketing of coloured gemstones. In addition to MRM, it is the operator and owner of 75% of the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia, presented as “the largest emerald mine in the world”, and holds bulk sampling licences in Ethiopia, among others.
According to the latest G Factor for Natural Resources report, published on June 5, 2024 by Lusa, the MRM mine recorded total revenue of US$117.2 million (€102.5 million) in 2024. The previous report, from 2023, identified total revenues from that Mozambican operation of US$151.3 million (€132.4 million).
Since Gemfields acquired 75% of MRM in February 2012, the year mining began, with ruby auctions starting two years later, that mine has accumulated revenues in excess of US$1.172 billion (€1.026 billion), paying the Mozambican state US$285.5 million (€250 million) over the same period.
The mine resumed operations last January after work was halted following social unrest in the area in the wake of the general elections on October 9, 2024 in Mozambique.