AFRICAN BUZZ
AFRICAN BUZZ
DRC:
GOVERNMENT WARNED TO
WITHDRAW TROOPS
The DRC’s army deployment to remove artisanal miners at the
Tenke Fungurume mines in Lualaba Province recently evoked
a strong response from international organisations. Amnesty
International’s deputy regional director for East Africa, the Horn
and the Great Lakes, Sarah Jackson, was one of the first to respond,
and said that the troops had to withdraw immediately to avert
unlawful killings. Lualaba province is part of the former Katanga
province in southern DRC and is the country’s most significant
copper and cobalt mining area.
“Given the long history of excessive use of force by the Congolese
army and its lack of appropriate training in managing public
order, the DRC government must immediately withdraw its armed
forces. These artisanal miners are merely trying to eke out a living,
and sending in the army against them would be completely
irresponsible,” says Jackson.
The soldiers were reportedly unleashed to remove more than
10 000 artisanal miners in June 2019. The government estimates
that 20% of the cobalt currently exported from the DRC comes
from Katanga’s artisanal miners.
There are about 110 000 regular artisanal miners in the Katanga
region, increasing to about 150 000 on a seasonal basis. In the
absence of authorised artisanal mining areas, many artisanal
miners illegally enter private concessions.
Tenke Fungurume Mining Complex in the DRC hosts one of the
largest highest-grade producing copper and cobalt mines in the
world and is owned by China Molybdenum, which is listed on the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
MALI:
WORLD BANK SUPPORTS
MINING
The World Bank’s board of executive directors approved a
USD40-million credit from the International Development
Association (IDA) to strengthen the capacity and governance of the
mining sector in Mali.
This financing, together with other World Bank initiatives and
donor-funded programs will support the Malian government to
leverage the mining sector and stimulate local economic and social
development. The Governance of the Mining Sector Project will
create growth and diversification of the mineral sector, strengthen
revenue transparency and governance and maximise the local
development impact of mining.
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African Mining September
2019 Publication
11
African Mining
African Mining
African Mining September 2019
11