Good afternoon. Unlicensed mining, and the disorder and death associated with it, is continuing to grow, as this week’s headlines demonstrate. Informal mining is now rife in several parts of central and northern Mozambique. The increase in mining activity over the last year is due mainly to a rise in the gold price making mining more viable and profitable. But miners have also felt emboldened because of the climate of impunity that arose after the election-related protests of 2024-25. It is not a coincidence that there is significant unlicensed gold mining going on in Nampula province, where there is little respect for the ruling party Frelimo. There has also been an increase in unauthorised mining recently at the Montepuez Ruby Mining concession in Cabo Delgado province. This is apparently driven by envious people in the ruling Frelimo party trying to challenge their comrade, the Frelimo war veteran Raimundo Pachinuapa, who owns a minority stake in the business.
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Up to now, the government has been hesitant to control the miners. It is still reluctant to use force against civil disorder in the wake of the election-related protests. As such, local authorities have been discouraged from using force. Even if they wanted to, a lot of the mining happens in remote areas which are hard to police. There was actually a police crackdown on miners in Nampula’s Mogovolas district from the end of December, which left either seven or 38 people dead, depending on whom you believe. But a nationwide crackdown has not been ordered. That remains a possibility if informal mining continues to increase. Although the government does not have the resources to shut down all unlicensed mining everywhere, it could target the hotspots.
