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Two Police Officers Killed in Attack at Gemfields’ Mozambique Ruby Mine October 24, 2025 (0 comments)
Maputo, Mozambique--Two Mozambican police officers were killed after a group of illegal miners attacked Gemfields Group's Montepuez ruby mine in northern Mozambique, Reuters reported.
[Image via iStock.com/Epitavi]
According to the report, about 40 illegal miners marched on the mine gate on Monday and attacked officers stationed there. One of the victims was a commander from Mozambique's Natural Resources Protection Force.
Gemfields said no employees or contractors were injured and that operations have since remained stable. The attack was linked to a violent clash earlier the same day between immigration authorities and suspected illegal immigrants in a nearby village, which left one person dead, the report stated.
The company said illegal miners have been sabotaging plant infrastructure, delaying the commissioning of its second processing plant. Its November–December ruby auction has been pushed to January or February 2026, as per the report.
Gemfields' Montepuez mine, one of the world's largest ruby sources, had previously halted operations in October 2022 after an insurgent-linked attack at a nearby site. The company said there is no evidence the latest incident is tied to the Islamist insurgency that began in 2017 and has disrupted mining and gas projects across Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, the report noted.
Learn more in this report by Reuters.