Mozambique Ruby
RUBY
Mozambique (Southeast Africa)
Gemstone Marketing Trade Term: "Mozambican"
Geography: Metamorphic (High-Iron)
Crystal Structure: Trigonal
Composition: Corundum (AI₂O₃ (crystallized aluminum oxide)) + Chromium, Vanadium, Titanium, Iron trace elements
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Corundum is typically colorless. The trace elements, as with other stones, create color in the mineral. Chromium is the main element that causes Red in Corundum, producing Ruby.
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Nampula, Mozambique (about 100mi south of Montepuez)
The Montepuez mine in Mozambique covers an expansive area. It is a very large open-pit mine.
Miners use heavy equipment to break away at the surface, exposing amphibolite pockets. Once found, they gather it up and transport the rock to a wash facility. As they break down the rock, Rubies are collected.
Northern Mozambique, Montepuez Ruby mine
Some Rubies from Montepuez have been known to rival a Burma. The ones that do command a premium, given they form in an Iron rich environment and Burma Rubies do not.
Inclusions & Clarity Characteristics​
Mozambique Rubies have short needles, small platelets, and particles in a particular pattern. This can be seen at high magnification with fiber optic lighting.
They also contain unique crystals characteristic to the geography. Amphibole crystals in different reliefs and sizes are quite common inclusions in these Rubies.
Intersecting needles, platelets, and particles
Amphibole crystals within the gemstone
If the Ruby is free of inclusions, the gemstone should be submitted to GIA for a chemical analysis with further instruments for testing origin. However, because the chemical composition for Ruby is generally the same, this process is not as accurate as the identifying clarity characteristics.
