GEMFLELDS Group said today its Montepuez ruby mine in northern Mozambique was stormed by illegal miners, resulting in the deaths of two police officers.
Around 40 intruders marched on the mine entrance on Monday before attacking security personnel stationed there, the company said. Among those killed was a commander from Mozambique’s Natural Resources Protection Force, it added.
No employees or contractors from Gemfields were harmed during the incident, and the site has remained peaceful since the attack, the company said.
The assault appears connected to violent clashes that erupted earlier the same day between district immigration officials and suspected illegal immigrants in a nearby village, Gemfields said. That confrontation reportedly claimed one life, it added.
The mining firm has postponed the launch of its second processing plant at Montepuez, citing ongoing sabotage of supply infrastructure by large groups of illegal miners. Consequently, the company’s traditional November-December ruby auction has been rescheduled to January or February 2026.
Operations at the Montepuez site were previously suspended in October 2022 following an attack on a neighbouring ruby mine linked to insurgent activity.
Whilst no evidence connects this latest incident to the Islamist insurgency that has plagued the region since 2017, authorities in Cabo Delgado province continue wrestling with both militant violence and widespread illegal gemstone extraction, said Reuters in a report.
The insurgency has killed thousands and severely disrupted major natural gas and mining ventures worth billions of dollars, the newswire said.
