The Mozambican Government intends to strengthen the link between scientific research and mining activities, promoting geoscientific knowledge as a tool to improve the prospecting, processing, certification and marketing of gemstones and precious metals.

This was announced today (22) in Nacala-Porto, in the northern province of Nampula, by the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Estevão Pale, during the opening of the gemstone and precious metals exhibition, which forms part of the eighth edition of the Nampula Annual Gemstone Fair (FAGENA 2026) and the first Conference on Adding Value to Available Mineral and Energy Resources (CAVAME-d).

“Adding value begins with knowledge. That is why FAGENA does not end with the exhibition. Scientific presentations will take place today and tomorrow, bringing science to the heart of the mining business,” he stressed.

According to the minister, the scientific sessions will address topics related to geology, geophysics, artisanal and small-scale mining, and the contribution of geoscientific research to prospecting, land-use planning and decision-making.

The programme includes topics on the certification and processing of gemstones and precious metals, environmental sustainability, mining licences and the Kimberley Process, with a focus on the legal procedures applicable to the marketing and export of mineral products.

Pale said he hoped the discussions would produce concrete recommendations to improve research, licensing, marketing, certification, traceability and environmental monitoring.

“I therefore encourage exhibitors, operators and students to take part in these discussions, because it is through them that knowledge is transformed into better practices and better business,” he urged.

The minister stressed that FAGENA’s integration into CAVAME-d responds to the need to process mineral raw materials locally, as part of the country’s industrialisation strategy.

He explained that a significant proportion of Mozambique’s gemstones and precious metals continue to leave the country in their raw state, meaning that the added value generated through cutting, certification, jewellery-making and marketing is captured abroad.

“Every link in the value chain that we manage to establish in Mozambique translates into more jobs, especially for young people, higher incomes for miners, more revenue for the State and new opportunities for national small and medium-sized enterprises,” he said.

The minister also identified the formalisation of the gemstone and precious metals trade and the taxation of their sale among the initiative’s objectives, alongside improving the earnings of artisanal miners and disseminating knowledge produced in the country about gemstones and their deposits.

In addition to gemstones and precious metals, the exhibition presents processing concepts, technologies used in mineral exploration and treatment, and personal protective equipment for mining activities.

The programme also includes a presentation of Kenya’s experience in building a sustainable value chain based on small-scale miners.

FAGENA is an event promoting Mozambique’s geological and mining resources and geosciences, held periodically in Nampula province.