A team of GIA (Gemological Institute of America) field researchers who visited Mozambique’s Montepuez mining area in early Sept. 2014, to collect ruby samples for the Institute’s gem identification database and to document the current state of the deposit said that  the Montepuez Ruby Mining Company’s (MRM) has rapidly expanded since the operation reached the production stage in 2012, handling 1.6 million tons of rock and recovering eight million carats of ruby and corundum to date. The GIA team discovered an ample variety of ruby specimens ranging in size, colour and iron content, during this, the third expedition of GIA researchers to the area. since its discovery in 2009.

“It is truly fascinating to witness the evolution of this major deposit. While it is clear from our expedition that the MRM operation has reached production stage, I believe that this is just the beginning. The deposit seems to be incredibly rich, easy to mine and conveniently located along a major road and close to Mozambique’s port city of Pemba,” said Vincent Pardieu a field gemmologist and one of the members of the team.

“Today, MRM employs 600 staff and consists of four pits, a sophisticated washing plant, a sorting facility using a proprietary ruby evaluation system, an extensive prospection system and a base camp. Two types of deposits are found at the operation: at Maninge Nice, rubies are found in a primary deposit associated with amphibole, mica and feldspar. In Mugloto, Ntorro and Glass, rubies are found in secondary deposits along current or former river beds. The company is currently focusing mining production on secondary deposits in the Mugloto area since it is shallow (4-8 meters) and rich in high quality clean rubies, a result of  millions of years of weathering”, the team reported.