[miningmx.com] – PROPOSED changes to the mining code of the Democratic Republic of Congo would spell disaster for the country’s copper sector, said a business group in an e-mail to Bloomberg News.
“It would spell disaster for both the copper and gold-mining sectors in the DRC,’ Congo’s main business group, the Federation des Entreprises du Congo, said in a March 30 position paper on the revisions e-mailed to Bloomberg by one of the people.
The paper was part of a debate in the Congo’s parliament regarding an increase in royalties on copper and cobalt revenue to 3.5% from 2% and on gold and other precious metals to 3.5% from 2.5%. The royalty on diamonds and other gems will increase to six percent from four percent, said Bloomberg News.
“The growth of the mining sector, both industrial and artisanal, which should bring the state substantial revenue for economic and social development, has not fulfilled numerous expectations,’ the government said in a note explaining the revisions given to parliament last month.
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