The company Montepuez
Ruby Mining (MRM), which is largely owned by the British concern Gemfields, has
denounced the “modern slavery” to which illegal miners in the Montepuez area,
in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, are subjected. A statement
from MRM received by AIM on Wednesday said that the illegal miners (known as
“garimpeiros”) are thrust into debt slavery by the illicit consortia and
middlemen who recruit them. According to the data collected by MRM, most of the
garimpeiros come from Nampula province, some 400 kilometres south of Montepuez.
They are unemployed young men, easily attracted with promises that they will
make a fortune out of mining rubies. The illicit mining consortia provide their
recruits with transport to Montepuez, food and accommodation. But the miners
have to pay for this, and since they are usually unable to pay in advance, the
consortia advance them loans which must be repaid later out of the proceeds
from their work. This is the entrance to an unending debt trap. Once in Montepuez,
they are taken to the illegal mines, where they face inhuman and extremely
dangerous working conditions. They are given food, water, accommodation and
tools – but the product of their labour is sold higher up the illicit mining
chain, and the garimpeiros only receive a small fraction of its worth.
“Since they are in
debt to the consortium, and they have no money available, the miners cannot
return freely to their original homes”, said the MRM document. “As a result
they are effectively the victims of modern slavery”.
MRM also notes a rise
in the number of accidents due to the collapse of illegal mining shafts,
leading to the loss of several lives in the early months of this year. MRM says
it has provided “humanitarian assistance in rescuing the victims, signposting
the mines, and raising the awareness of the communities about this illegal
practice”.
MRM says it is
cooperating with the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Cabo
Delgado provincial government to reduce the risk and the exploitation of
vulnerable groups and to identify the promoters, middlemen and financiers of
this illegal activity. Many of those running the illegal mines are foreigners,
and in a major offensive against illegal mining, the police, in 2017 and 2018,
arrested and deported about 7,000 people. They had come, not only from
neighbouring countries such as Tanzania and Malawi, but from as far away as
Senegal and Mali. MRM adds that the influx of illegal miners damages the social
fabric of Montepuez communities due to alcohol and drug abuse, sexual violence,
and environmental problems such as polluting village water sources.
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