Maputo, Oct. 2, 2025 (Lusa) - Revenues from ruby exports fell 30% in the first quarter of the year, year-on-year, to US$5.1 million (€4.3 million), according to data from Mozambique's central bank.
This performance compares with US$7.2 million (€6.1 million) from January to March 2024, according to the latest statistical report on exports from the Bank of Mozambique.
This drop in export revenues contrasts with Mozambique's forecasts to produce more than 4.1 million carats of rubies in 2025, an increase of 5% over 2024 production, according to government data.
The previous document on the economic forecast for 2025 estimated the production of 4,143,832 carats of rubies in mining concessions in Mozambique from January to December, being the "product with the greatest weight in the overall structure of precious and semi-precious stones" produced in the country, with 76% of the total destined for export.
"Growth of around 5% is forecast for 2025, compared to 2024, due to the increase in the processing plant's capacity" of SLR Mining, according to the same economic and budgetary estimate.
Ruby production in Mozambique had skyrocketed in 2024 to almost four million carats, an increase of 46% over the previous year, according to previous government data.
"In the group of precious and semi-precious stones, the highlight is the ruby, which in the period under review recorded an execution rate of 128% in relation to the annual plan and a growth rate of 46%," reads the document with last year's export results.
Ruby production thus grew from 2.71 million carats in 2023 to 3.95 million carats in 2024, when the target set by the government was 3,080,895 carats last year.
Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM), owned by London-listed emerald and ruby miner, Gemfields, plans to triple processing at its ruby mine in Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, to 600 tonnes per hour, a Gemfields source told Lusa in June, in an investment of US$70 million (€59.8 million).
Gemfields, which owns and operates the mine, acknowledged at the time that the construction of the second ruby processing unit, known as PP2, at MRM represented "a crucial project to increase the production of premium rubies and generate additional revenue for the group by the end of 2025".
"PP2 is a secondary processing unit, which means that a greater amount of ore can be processed simultaneously. The addition of the second unit is expected to triple MRM's processing capacity from the current 200 tonnes per hour to 600 tonnes per hour," explained the same source from Gemfields, which owns 75% of MRM - with a concession area of 34,966 hectares - with the remaining 25% owned by the Mozambican company Mwiriti.
The second unit also leaves open the possibility of expansion "to other mining areas" in that MRM concession, which currently employs 1,300 workers, 94% of whom are Mozambican.
PVJ/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
