Maputo, 18 Jun (AIM) – The Montepuez Ruby Mining company (MRM), which operates in the Namanhumbir administrative post, Montepuez district, in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, plans to triple its processing activities in an investment of 70.3 million US dollars.
MRM is 75 per cent owned by the UK-based company Gemfields and 25 per cent by its Mozambican partner, Mwiriti Limitada.
According to a Gemfields source, interviewed by the Portuguese News Agency Lusa, processing may reach 600 tonnes per hour as a result of the construction of the second ruby processing unit, known as PP2.
“It represents a crucial project to increase the production of premium rubies and generate additional revenue for the group by the end of 2025”, the source said. The construction project may be concluded by the end of the first half of this year.
“PP2 is a secondary processing unit, which means that a larger amount of ore can be processed simultaneously. The addition of the second unit should triple MRM’s processing capacity from the current 200 tonnes per hour to 600 tonnes per hour”, the source said, 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 per cent of whom are Mozambican.
“The investment in PP2 is the largest investment ever made by the Gemfields group and represents our ongoing commitment to the province of Cabo Delgado, to Mozambique and to our local communities, for whom the creation of additional jobs and economic development are of crucial importance”, said MRM’s managing director, Prahalad Kumar Singh.
According to the company, the investment amounts to 70 million dollars, excluding taxes and fees, of which 60 million dollars has already been invested, with plans to expand the 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, at a time when the coloured gemstone market is expected to “recover and continue its upward trajectory in the medium–long term”.
Since Gemfields acquired 75% of MRM in February 2012, with ruby auctions starting two years later, the mine has accumulated revenue in excess of 1.172 billion dollars, paying 285.5 million to the Mozambican state.
(AIM)
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