JSE- and Aim-listed Gemfields has confirmed again its “G-factor for natural resources” figures for the Kagem emerald and Montepuez ruby mines, which now stand at 20% and 25%, respectively, for the period 2015 to 2024.

The Kagem mine is based in Zambia while the Montepuez mine is based in Mozambique.

The “G-factor for natural resources” reveals the percentage of natural resource revenue paid to the government of the country from which the resource is derived.

Gemfields has affirmed these figures yearly since 2021 in efforts to promote greater transparency and accountability on the level of natural resource wealth shared with its host countries’ governments.

For the company it is also an indicator of the efficient of natural resource companies in converting those natural resources into funds for host governments.

In 2024, Zambia became the first country in Africa to publish “G-factor for natural resources” data for key companies on its Zambia Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative’s online fusion portal, which has provided citizens with direct insight into the country’s participation in its natural resources.

Gemfields CEO Sean Gilbertson comments that the 2024 “G-factor” figures for the Kagem and Montepuez mines highlight the contributions that a mining company can make to a host country depending on the prevailing operating and market conditions.

“Despite a challenging in-country context, the Montepuez mine was able to return a robust 24% of its revenue to the government of Mozambique, owing to a resilient ruby market,” he adds.

In turn, the Kagem mine was impacted by adverse market conditions for Zambian emeralds in the second half of last year, which affected the profitability of the group. After needing to suspend mining operations at the end of the year, Kagem’s “G-factor” percentage fell to just 9%.

Gemfields in May this year resumed in-pit mining at the operation, which, coupled with improving market conditions, should allow the figure to return to its long-term average of about 19%.

“While Kagem had a poor 2024, we remain committed to the transparency brought by the ‘G-Factor for Natural Resources’ and we hope this candidness will encourage others to adopt the ‘G-Factor’, allowing host governments and their citizens to better understand the performance of the custodians of their resources,” Gilbertson says.