...[P]recious gemstones miner Gemfields is standing up to...allegations of human rights abuses at the company’s Montepuez ruby mine in Mozambique...The company...revealed that human rights law firm Leigh Day had lodged a claim against the company and its Mozambican operating subsidiary, Montepuez Ruby Mining (MRM).  The allegations, said the company, come from individuals living in or around the mine in northern Mozambique...Those claims range, it said, from death and mistreatment of artisanal or unlicensed miners on the property to taking land without due process, often in collusion with security forces in the form of police or military.  The legal action seeks to hold Gemfields liable for alleged police actions against illegal miners, as it was the company who called officers on to Montepuez...[L]ocals say they have been forced off their land; armed robberies and violence have soared as speculators have flocked to the area; and a growing number of small-scale miners have been beaten and shot...The...coloured gems miner...refutes such accusations.  “Gemfields and MRM take allegations of this nature extremely seriously and denounce any form of violence or abuse,” it said in a press statement...Gemfields acknowledged that instances of violence had occurred on and off the MRM licence area...It said those had often been between rival groups of artisanal miners and their handlers competing for control of territory, or involving security forces...However, where such incidents had occurred, including instances involving its own employees, MRM had taken appropriate steps, said Gemfields...