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Aerial view of extensive damage at Gemrock site. [Photo: Gemrock]
October 23rd, 2022 – In the early hours of 20th October, Gemrock’s Mozambique operations were attacked by a group of heavily armed insurgents. In a short span of about thirty minutes, these armed insurgents torched the heavy machinery equipment, vehicles, living accommodations and some of the other key infrastructure at the Gemrock operations located near Montepuez in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique. Despite the intensity of the attack, thanks to Gemrock security team and Gardaworld they could successfully evacuate all their personnel from its site without any harm or injuries of any sort.
Gemrock would like to thank the Mozambique army who on being alerted swiftly reached at its site and averted what could have been a much bigger loss to both life and assets. Unfortunately, as we understand none of the insurgents could be apprehended.
Gemrock, an international mining group, having invested millions of dollars in Mozambique has had to suspend its operations after this ghastly attacked since most of the heavy mining equipment required to run its operations has been charred by the insurgents. This attack has not only affected Gemrock but also the neighbouring ruby mining companies Gemfields and Fura. There is panic and chaos amongst all its team members comprising of expats from India, UK, South Africa etc. and the locals, affecting the lives of thousands of people connected directly or indirectly with the Montepuez ruby mining complex.
The situation has been further exacerbated by the fact that nearby villages which were a growing community and had one or more family member employed with Gemrock have vacated their villages and are trying to resettle in areas which they feel are safer and may never return to their homes. This will not only impact Gemrock but would deprive these people of their steady income and make them go back to living a life which is neither in their interest and nor in the interest of the overall society at large.
While Gemrock is doing its best to work closely to find a best way to resume its operations, without critical Government support the entire Mozambique ruby industry remains at risk. Gemrock has invested over 2 billion MT in its Mozambique operations and was on the cusp of expanding its operations. However, these plans have now been on the back burner.
For Gemrock to resume its operations and bring normalcy to the neighbouring villages, it is imminent that various Government departments proactively help and support. Gemrock has reached out to various Government authorities and departments to provide the military support around the perimeter of its operations, provide special forces to protect its personnel and assets and has also requested the Cabo Delgado Administration to help bring back the communities returns to their homes.
With over 90% of its workforce from the local communities, Gemrock is doing its best as a good corporate citizen to provide for their wellbeing by helping them with daily necessities and resettlement. This will help over 200 families tied over this immediate crisis and hopefully they can return to their homes soon. The shareholders and management of Gemrock are quite concerned about the situation on the ground and would like to request the support of the Mozambican Government authorities to bring normalcy to the operations as soon as possible.
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