Miners hijack ruby works in Mozambique pay dispute

A group of 100 workers at a ruby mine have blocked the entrance to the gem-washing facilities, forcing work to come to a halt.

The ruby mine is owned by a company called Fura and is located in Montepeuz in northern Mozambique. The people who work there are employed by a logistics firm called Reef.

The workers say their employer owes them more than $265,000 (£215,000) in unpaid wages over the past three months.

But a Reef management representative says they have already tried to negotiate the debt with Fura to no avail. Fura has not yet commented on the claims.

Large-scale ruby mining began in Mozambique around 14 years ago.

This article and image originally appeared on BBC News