Mozambique: Gemfields paid 35% of its revenue to the state treasury in 2023

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Mozambique: Gemfields paid 35% of its revenue to the state treasury in 2023

4:35 CAT | 24 Apr 2024

File photo: Diário Economico

In July 2021, Gemfields – the main shareholder of Montepuez Ruby Mining in Mozambique and Kagem in Zambia – announced the “G Factor for Natural Resources,” a measure aimed at promoting greater transparency regarding the level of natural resource wealth shared with governments.

According to an article published this Wednesday, April 24th, by the Mining Weekly news portal, the mining company announced updated figures for the measure for the year 2023, inviting extractive companies, industry observers, and governments to adopt the “G Factor for Natural Resources” to improve transparency and accountability of the companies.

Reporting the calculations of the measure on its two main mining subsidiaries, namely the Kagem emerald mine in Zambia and the Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique, Gemfields notes that it provides a simple indicator of the percentage of revenue paid to governments in primary and direct taxes.

“This is also an indicator of the efficiency of natural resource companies in converting them into funds for the governments of the countries where they operate,” the site writes, citing the mining company’s statement. According to the report, the Montepuez mine contributed 35% of its revenue to the state coffers in 2023, while the Kagem mine paid 31%.

“During the same period, MRM collected revenues of $151.3 million (9.5 billion meticais), and Zambia collected $92.7 million (5.8 billion meticais).

“The ‘G Factor for Natural Resources’ provides a simple score that allows observers to assess the efficiency of extractive companies in converting natural resources into wealth for the nations where they operate,” explained Sean Gilbertson, CEO of Gemfields.

“In order to better align ourselves with the practices of other countries in our region, we have added export duties and fees as an additional parameter in the calculation this year.” He also emphasized his hope that “the ‘G Factor’ will be voluntarily adopted by other companies and governments and incorporated into projects such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative [EITI – an international initiative aimed at improving transparency and accountability in the extractive sector].”

Source: Diário Economico