31 10 13 VoA – Congo-Kinshasa: Could Industrial Mining Bring Jobs, Peace to Eastern Congo?
all of the mines in eastern Congo's Kivu provinces are still worked by
small-scale or "artisanal" miners using picks and shovels, who, in many cases,
are forced to pay illegal taxes to armed groups or to the
army.
The
minerals are mostly smuggled to neighboring countries to avoid Congo's other
taxes, and officials in those neighboring countries, as well as the Congolese
army, have allegedly supported armed groups in order to keep this situation
going.
Digging
deeper
But
there could be a win-win solution for both sides of the borders, says Sasha
Lezhnev, of the Enough Project, a non-governmental organization that campaigns
for responsible minerals trade.
"I
think what has been discovered in the last few years, if you look at a mine like
Bisie in Walikale for example, is in fact when geologists come and drill into
the ground they discover hundreds of millions, or billions of dollars worth of
deposits of these minerals," Lezhnev said. "And yet the Congolese government has
not really opened up these mines as they have in other parts of the country to
investors."
The
mine at Bisie, where mining is still entirely artisanal, is an exceptionally
rich deposit, and two years ago was reported to be producing most of the tin ore
exported from eastern Congo. But a number of other sites, including several gold
mines, could also be exploited industrially, and without funding rebel groups
like the FDLR, Lezhnev suggests.
"Some
of these areas are not really in conflict. Frankly, the FDLR has been pushed out
of many of these mines, so it's the army [in control]," he said. "So
theoretically, the government should be able to say to the army, oh no, please
go and do your business somewhere else."
Lezhnev
says if the government could open up these mines to serious investors,
neighboring countries could also benefit by providing services. The one
industrial miner in South Kivu, the Canadian firm Banro, has its logistical base
in Rwanda.
"So
building on that I would say the key to unlocking peace is really to develop
those mines in eastern Congo, and also in Rwanda and other areas of the region,
by working closely with the private sector and NGOs to develop responsible
minerals trade that actually works across borders," Lezhnev
said.
A
premature concept
How
soon could this happen? A close observer of mining in the region, the Dutch
lawmaker Judith Sargentini – who's campaigning against conflict minerals – says
industrial investment might be premature because of the impact on
jobs.
"Yes,
you could imagine that if things in eastern Congo calm down that in 20, 30 or 40
years you do indeed see a bigger industrialization of mining," she said. "But I
do think you can organize it as well at the moment with artisanal mining,
creating a lot of jobs, and I find that very important also for stabilizing the
country."
So
far, almost the only experience the Kivus have had with industrial mining has
been with the company Banro. Congolese researcher Kamundala Byemba reported last
year that out of 6,000-12,000 miners working in the Twangiza area where Banro
drilled a pit, only 850 were offered jobs by the company and many of those jobs
were temporary, while the others lost access to the mine.
The
Banro foundation chairman, Martin Jones, disputes those
figures.
He
said, "That's absolutely incorrect. There are many thousands of artisanal miners
working at Twangiza but when we brought the south pit into production it was
only a matter of finding work alternatives for 1,200-1,300 of
them."
Banro
says it directly employs 1,200 Congolese nationals, has offered as many as 2,000
other jobs in eastern Congo through labor hire companies and that its investment
has indirectly created as many as 20,000 jobs in the wider
economy.
It
also says its charitable foundation has invested $4 million in social projects
in eastern Congo, such as schools and training centers, and built or repaired
550 kilometers of roads.
VOA