THE Democratic Republic of Congo has imposed a three-month moratorium on mining activities in parts of South Kivu province in response to illegal exploitation of mineral resources in the region, according to a report by Reuters on May 25.
A directive signed on May 22 by mines minister Louis Watum Kabamba ordered the suspension in the province’s Mwenga and Shabunda territories. During the period, a special inspection mission led by the General Inspectorate of Mines will assess the legality of operations in the affected areas, said the newswire.
South Kivu, in eastern Congo, produces gold, tin ore cassiterite and coltan, most of it extracted by artisanal miners.
The move is the latest in a series of measures Kinshasa has taken to curb mining fraud and illicit mineral flows in the country’s volatile east.
Last year, Congo banned the trading of minerals from dozens of artisanal sites in conflict-affected North and South Kivu provinces, citing evidence that smuggled ore was channelling funds to armed groups operating in the region.
Congo holds some of the world’s largest reserves of cobalt, copper and lithium, but successive governments have struggled to bring artisanal and informal mining under effective regulatory control, particularly in provinces where armed groups exert influence over supply chains, the newswire said.
The suspension reflects growing pressure on Kinshasa to demonstrate that it can enforce mineral governance standards at a time when international scrutiny of Congo’s critical minerals supply chains has intensified.
