KINSHASA: The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mines Minister suspends the official in charge of overseeing the artisanal mining sector, as the government tries to curb unauthorised operations on copper- cobalt concessions held by international investors.
Mines Minister Louis Watum removed Jean-Paul Kapongo Kadiobo as director general of the agency known by the French acronym SAEMAPE on Oct 21, according to a decree seen by Bloomberg News.
The order said he failed to prevent “illicit artisanal mining” within permits assigned to other firms.
The decision comes after about 300 Chinese nationals working in Congo’s copper belt were detained as part of a crackdown on illegal mining. Bloomberg reported the arrests, which took place mostly around the city of Kolwezi, on Oct 16.
Chinese mining and processing firms account for most copper and cobalt production in the central African nation where the two metals are often found together.
SAEMAPE is the government body responsible for supervising and formalising artisanal and small-scale mining in the world’s second-biggest copper supplier and top source of battery material cobalt.
The provincial head of the agency in Lualaba, of which Kolwezi is the capital, was also suspended, according to local media reports.
Foreign companies such as China Molybdenum Co Ltd, Glencore Plc and Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd produce most of the copper and cobalt in Congo.
But the artisanal sector provides livelihoods for hundreds of thousands of local people who typically operate – sometimes protected by members of the armed forces – inside licenses held by industrial mining firms. — Bloomberg
