Mozambique Launches Ruby Mine Project as Precious Gemstones Take Spotlight

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Precious gemstones are increasingly being considered an alternative to diamonds and, at the highest quality level, could begin to rival the price of diamonds per carat. A new Mozambican company, Montepuez Mining (Maputo), is to begin mining rubies in the mineral-rich deposit at Namanhumbir, in the country's northern province of Cabo Delgado. A Montepuez Mining director said that the company was authorized to exploit 32,000 hectares.

Geological studies indicate that the region could be rich with enough ruby deposits to allow mining for 50 years. Some observers say that the area could contain the world's largest identified deposit of rubies.

The Mozambican government has granted a 25-year mining license to the company, which is in partnership with a specialist consortium that is based in the U.K.

This formal approval of a mining venture is in contrast to what has been the prevailing means of extracting gemstones from the deposit by informal miners. These stones were then sold illegally to foreign buyers from African and Asian countries.

The informal miners do not realize the value of the stones and are sold short by the buyers. Rubies sold at about $2,300 for 2.7 grams can be sold by the buyers in Thailand for $18,000.

Montepuez Mining plans to create 350 jobs and to undertake socially responsible projects in the local community, such as rehabilitating the local primary school and building a market.

The international diamond market and the image of the sparkling gem have been burnished by a sustained marketing strategy for more than 100 years. Precious gemstones are now receiving marketing attention, and last year the International Colored Gemstone Association in the U.S. said that emeralds, rubies and sapphires have a lasting appeal and distinguished history, which ensures they will remain in demand.

There is also a much wider range of gemstones, some of which may prove to have a very high value.

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