Montepuez Ruby Mining supports conservation areas

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Montepuez Ruby Mining supports conservation areas

7:52 CAT | 06 Mar 2020

Qurimbas. [Photo: Lusa]

The company Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM) has granted 300,000 US dollars for projects to be operated in the two largest conservation areas in northern Mozambique – the Niassa National Reserve and the Quirimbas National Park.

Over a three year period, 50,000 dollars a year will be allocated to each of these conservation areas.

Speaking as part of the celebrations of World Wildlife Day, held on 3 March each year, the director of the Niassa Carnivore Project, Colleen Begg, praised the initiative of MRM in the battle to protect wild life.

“MRM together with other donors and partners, the Mozambican government and ANAC (National Administration of Conservation Areas), are supporting our programmes of alternative livelihoods, such as bee-keeping, handicrafts and small scale livestock programmes which generate income for communities living in the reserve, and at the same time guarantee that people are partners in the programme to protect lions. This programme covers communities in seven villages”, said Begg, in a press release.

She explained that such programmes provide the local population with a viable alternative to poaching, and are vital for protecting endangered species.

For his part, the director of the Quirimbas National Park, Naugi Ntave, said the support from MRM is improving the capacity of local communities to live alongside wild life.

“MRM support has helped us in some activities, particularly the hiring, training and payment of 11 inspectors and four technical assistants, This has allowed more hours of patrolling, consequently reducing the circulation of people in forbidden area and reducing the illegal exploitation of natural resources”, sad Ntave.

The Niassa Reserve, the largest conservation área in the country, covers around 42,000 square quilometres, in Niassa province, bordering on Tanzania. The Quirimbas National Park has both marine and teerrestrial areas. It covers the Quirimbas Archipelago off the coast of Cabo Delgado province, and the adjacent strip of the mainland.

MRM operates what is believed to be the largest ruby deposit in the world, in the Cabo Delgado district of Montepeuz. It is 75 per cent owned by the British company Gemfields, and the other 25 per cent is in the hands of the Mozambican concern, Mwiriti.

Source: AIM