Mozambique: Gemfields Denies Human Rights Abuses in Montepuez

Maputo — The British company Gemfields, which is the majority shareholder in Montepuez Ruby Mining Ltd (MRM), in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, has strongly denied claims that it is responsible for human rights violations in its mining concession area.

A British law firm, Leigh Day, has filed a claim against Gemfields on behalf of 29 individuals living near the concession. The claim, Gemfields noted in a statement issued at the weekend, “alleges that Gemfields and MRM are liable for human rights abuses including the deaths and mistreatment of artisanal miners and the seizure of land without due process. Those acts are, in many instances, alleged by the law firm to have involved the Mozambican police and/or other Mozambican government forces, for which the claim seeks to hold Gemfields and MRM liable”.

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