Tue 18 July 2023:
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to a $1.9 billion contract to develop at least four mines in the country’s turbulent east, the Congolese presidency says.
The cooperation between Societe Aurifere du Kivu et du Maniema (Sakima) and the Emirati government was signed in the capital city of Kinshasa, according to President Felix Tshisekedi’s office on Monday.
According to the announcement, the agreement will allow for the “construction of more than 4 industrial mines” in the South Kivu and Maniema provinces.
State-owned Sakima has mining concessions for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold in that part of the DRC.
No additional information concerning the agreement, such as what type of minerals would be extracted.
The agreement was inked after the DRC signed a 25-year contract in December with UAE firm Primera Group over export rights for some artisanally mined ores. Those are metals extracted by independent miners who are not employed by mining companies.
Militias – up to 120 such groups, according to a count by the United Nations – have plagued eastern DRC for decades, and they have been sustained in part by trading minerals obtained illicitly.
Despite the deployment of a regional peacekeeping force and a UN military contingent, the long-running violence there has continued. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, at least 5 million people have been internally displaced and one million have gone abroad since the newest iteration of the conflict erupted in May 2021.
According to the Congolese finance ministry, Primera Gold began operations in South Kivu region in January and shipped 1 tonne of certified gold by May.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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