Gemfields warns modern slavery
Illegal Mining Creates social evils! The world’s leading supplier of responsibly sourced coloured gemstones, Gemfields, has warned that illegal miners – including juveniles - are putting their lives at risk and facing modern slavery in Mozambique. The London-based company, which owns 75% of Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) in Mozambique, has observed increasing numbers of illegal miner pit collapse incidents in 2019, resulting in the loss of multiple lives. MRM has responded by providing humanitarian assistance in rescue and recovery operations, as well as by increasing on-site signage warning of the dangers of illegal mining and campaigning to raise awareness among the local communities and government officials to assist in tackling the issue. In addition, MRM has carried out an investigation into the illegal mining activities in the Montepuez area of Mozambique, finding that most of the illegal miners are not from the local area and are controlled by syndicates and mid