Earlier today we posted this story about Gemfields, the company that sources stones from northern Mozambique. We received this email in response from Brian Cattell who represents the company.

Brian sought to correct some inaccuracies and sent these in:

2)      Further, you say that “MRM is the only group permitted to produce and sell rubies from the Mozambique region”. This is also simply factually incorrect. The overall area where rubies were discovered in Montepuez is far bigger than the concession area occupied by MRM (up to 3 times as big), and it contains entities operating other concessions; as well as other miners.

3)      You say that security forces from MRM are shooting and killing miners. That is also not true. No security personnel connected to MRM have ever been involved in the killing of a miner.

Below is the story as it appeared this morning, based off information from THIS article.

Gemfields, the “ethical” gemstone company who gets its stones from Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) in a militarised zone of northern Mozambique, has links to many South Africans: The Johannesburg-listed Pallinghurst Resources is the mine’s largest shareholder (48%) and within it there’s retail billionaire Christo Wiese who is Pallinghurst’s largest shareholder, Brian Gilbertson, a former BHP Billiton, chairs Pallinghurst and then there’s Ian Harebottle, who is chief executive of Gemfields itself.

MRM is the only group permitted to produce and sell rubies from the Mozambique region and following various freeform miners occupying the area, the group has employed private security to ensure that no one else gets their hands on any gemstones. 40% of the world’s gemstones are expected to come from the 336km2 concession and, in 2011, the Mozambican government granted MRM an exclusive 25-year mining licence. Now, security forces deployed from both the government and MRM are shooting and killing miners who have lived off the land for generations.

Actress Mila Kunis is Gemfields’ brand ambassador and, in a promotional video, she glorified the company for its ethical approach to gemstone mining:

They take so much pride in how socially and ethically responsible they are. I do believe that they believe it.

The parties intervening and clearing unlicensed miners from the area are predominantly government security groups. Montepuez chief prosecutor Pompilio Xavier Wazamguia said:

I don’t know why, but we have [state security forces] protecting the mine. In my point of view, it should be the company’s duty to create its own security programme to protect the mine.

Yet Gemfields argues that government law enforcement agents are present “to uphold the law of the land and to protect the national interests of the country”.

MRM has private security present as well.

While villagers from the region insist that the area has become militarised, MRM insists that this isn’t the case, seeing it as mere protection of the space from illegals. There have been around 12 reported cases involving the death of miners – and not all of them were illegal.

Although the Mail&Guardian has sent questions to the various players in the MRM mining situation, none have replied. Wiese also received a set of questions, to which his secretary responded that he has “no time to reply”. But surely if he isn’t involved he should just say so?

[source: amabhungane]