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Mining as usual in DRC despite fighting
Allan Seccombe
Posted: Fri, 23 Mar 2007

[miningmx.com] -- MINING companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo are going about their business as usual and the outbreak of violence in the capital Kinshasa has left mining operations thousands of kilometres to the south and east untroubled.

There was a second day of fierce fighting in Kinshasa on Friday, which left at least 12 people dead as forces loyal to former vice-president and runner up in the presidential poll Jean Pierre Bemba battled government troops.

Bemba, who has sought refuge in the South African embassy, stands accused of high treason by the state, which has a warrant out for his arrest.

The latest outburst of fighting has provoked calls from around the world for the two sides to desist from violence and to start talking.
work is continuing as usual
Mining companies which operate in the copper belt on the southern border with Zambia and in the far northeast gold belt are untroubled by the fighting.

“We have had no problems at all and work is continuing as usual,” said Peter Cowley, CEO of Banro, which is exploring for gold.

The situation in Kinshasa is unlikely to be felt much outside the immediate vicinity of the capital in the short term, said Mark Smith, an African mining analyst with RBC Capital Markets in London.

“There may be some administrative delays for companies seeking signoffs on permits for example, but otherwise there is no real impact,” Smith said.

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The government is likely to prioritise calming the political unstable situation in the capital rather than attend to mining business in the immediate future.

“What could happen is that because of the market perception of Congolese risk there might be a sell off in shares of some companies operating there, but I would argue that presents a buying opportunity,” Smith said.

A move by President Joseph Kabila to scale down the armed force protecting Bemba escalated tensions in Kinshasa over the past week, the AFP news agency reported. Bemba has been reluctant to meld his forces into the country’s army because of concerns about his personal safety.

“Bemba committed treason in using the armed forces for his own ends,” government spokesman Toussaint Tshilombo Send told AFP.

There was an outbreak of fighting last year when it was clear Bemba had not won the race to lead one of Africa’s most mineral rich nations ahead of Kabila’s inauguration last December after the first democratic elections in more than 40 years.