Fatal ruby raid at ASX-listed firm’s Mozambique mine

A guard has died during a robbery at a ruby mine in northern Mozambique run by ASX-listed Mustang Resources.

 

A guard has died during a robbery at a ruby mine run by ASX-listed Mustang Resources.

Mustang owns the Monetpuez ruby mine in northern Mozambique and said this morning that a safe containing 19,000 carats of mostly low-quality rubies had been stolen in the early morning raid.

The company (MUS) did not provide any details of the circumstances that led to the guard’s death.

“Mustang believes the break-in is of a ‘grab-and-run’ nature and highly opportunistic, taking place when the mine was closed in the very early hours of the morning,” the company said in a statement to the ASX.

The theft comes just weeks ahead of Mustang’s inaugural auction of 300,000 carats of rubies from Montepuez. The company said it remained on track to have more than enough rubies for the tender, which will take place in Mauritius next month, with most of the rubies mined to date already stored safely overseas.

Mustang said the rubies, along with office equipment also stolen during the raid, were covered by insurance.