Modern Slavery in Mozambique: Children Recruited for Labor at Montepuez Ruby Mining

Child exploitation has reached a new and alarming level in the province of Cabo Delgado, where approximately 300 children are forced to work daily in conditions analogous to slavery in the ruby ​​mines of the concessionaire Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM). These children are recruited by international smuggling syndicates, and some appear to be as young as 8 years old, exchanging school and childhood for unstable underground labyrinths, putting their lives at risk every minute.

When joint patrol teams (comprising the Republic Police, MRM security, and private security) find the minors, they are simply returned to their families, perpetuating the cycle. It is worth recalling that Montepuez Ruby Mining (“MRM”) issued a warning that, since the last quarter of 2025, incursions into its concession area have increased exponentially, and “one third of the invaders are minors,” clarifying that currently, an average of 1,000 illegal miners are detected daily in the concession, of which approximately 300 are children and adolescents between 8 and 17 years old.

Organized crime surrounding precious stones not only claims lives and steals the childhood of hundreds of children in Montepuez, but the situation is even more serious due to the fatal risks involved. Children descend into illegal wells they have dug themselves, reaching depths of up to twelve meters. The danger intensifies during the rainy season, when the soil becomes lighter and more slippery. Down there, they carry out horizontal excavations, creating veritable underground labyrinths that can collapse at any moment, with potentially fatal consequences.

According to MRM, "These recruiters take advantage of poverty and unemployment, attracting young people and their families with the promise of 'fortunes in ruby ​​mining'. The recruited youths, many from neighboring provinces such as Nampula and Zambézia, or even from countries like Tanzania, are often forced to pay the unions for the 'opportunity' to work. The monstrous act of sending children to work under these conditions is a flagrant violation of their human rights, not only by depriving them of their childhood and education, but also by exposing them to extraordinary mortal danger." One of the factors that makes the recruitment of minors so attractive to unions is Mozambican law, which does not provide for criminal liability for children.