Ruby-rich Namanhumbir village of about 6,000 inhabitants close to Montepuez, the capital of Cabo Delgado district, Northern Mozambique. Photo by Estacio Valoi
By Estacio Valoi
The Canadian company Fura, which has been operating in the district of Montepuez in the Province of Cabo Delgado in the exploration of rubies, has not paid the 6% production tax for the auction of 55.22 carats of valuable ore named “Estrela do Fura” until today.
According to reliable sources, Moz24h told Moz24h that the 55.22-carat ruby became the largest and most valuable jewel of its kind ever sold at auction, fetching US$34.8 million in New York last June, less than a year ago. After the Canadian company Fura Gems discovered the mineral, nothing has entered the Mozambican government’s coffers through the tax authority.
At the time, in a press release, fashion would publicize after the discovery of the “Star of Fura” in 2022, the mining company informed the Government of Cabo Delgado about its unprecedented discovery, which would contribute to the payment rate and tax contribution.
“Since the auction took place, we have not received any production tax payments from the mining company FURA. The mining company has already been told to pay but so far it hasn’t, it doesn’t want to pay, it must have paid commissions to some influential people who at the end of the day only harm the country. It’s like going to borrow money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when the country of Mozambique annually earns 6 billion dollars. You don’t need money from the IMF, which amounts to about half a million dollars and isn’t even enough.” They emphasized the sources
According to Sotheby’s, one of the world’s largest companies in the luxury art market, cited by the CNN Style portal, it was an “extremely rare” ruby, of a value and importance never before seen on the market.
The concession area where the stone was discovered according to miners and members of the local association Armando Emilio Guebuza is linked to its previous concessions, which were held by the company FURA in a scheme set up by the mining company Gemrock and Kwikwira
“If we didn’t sell, we would lose both the money and the land”
As they recall the events of 2021, Santos and Quinhanja narrate that the local mining associations were told by their partners in the joint venture that “the land was small and we should sell our shares to Fura so that the mining could take off.” A cash sales price of US$4,700 was offered, with another community benefit of two tractors, but, say the two chairmen, they were not aware that it meant that there was no longer going to be any joint mining in the community. “They told us that if we didn’t accept we would lose the money as well as the land. We were pressurised. It was just sign, sign, sign.” The two men point to their well-connected local member, mining shareholder and Frelimo war veteran Luis Crisanto Nantimbo, as the one who did most of the pressurising. “He manipulated information to convince us,” says Santos. “He also
The sale to Fura was subsequently registered in the Mozambican Government Gazette which noted that, for the purposes of the registration, both partners in Moz Gems Montepuez, Kukwira as well as the artisanal associations [1], had been represented by a businessman called Chandra Shekhar Singh.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Chandra Shekhar Singh is the Managing Director Africa at Fura Gems. “We didn’t even know this Mr Chandra Shekhar,” Santos and Quinhanja say.
Criminals dodged the Courts
Those now in power leading FURA gems are the same people which where leading Gemfield /MRM when the company did violate several human rigths and forced in London to pay compensation to the people but those masterminds who gave oreder for the beating, killing aere still free – FURA diretor-chiefs
Those who gave orders to the security officials were the executive directors of Gemfields-MRM, some names mentioned above according to data published in previous investigations, with refuge in MUSTANG, New Energy, the Indians who gave orders to the well-known nacatanas. In reply to a letter to Fura the company said, Mr Shetty joined Fura Gems Inc in January 2017 as executive president. He was chief operating officer and board member of Gemfields Plc and the only relationship between the two companies has to do with a publicly announced acquisition agreement between Fura and New Energy in July 2018, in which Fura accepted acquisition of certain ruby assets. New Energy rubies in Mozambique (the transaction).
PR distraction ploy: MRM releases a press statement about another court case In one of this year’s MRMG/Gemfields press release, it mentions that the Namanhumbir community lost a court case opened against the company.This is not the case in question.
“We don’t know about that case and it’s not ours. We do not take this case to court because there are cases of our colleagues that were submitted to the court and the court always said that it is not capable of solving the problem. Here, neither the court nor the prosecutor solves our problems, we stay at home, they say the mine is and the state’s granary, even those who are still in the company don’t speak up.”
https://www.zammagazine.com/investigations/1679-mozambique-southern-africa-s-mining-scars-part-3
