MINES minister for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Martin Kabwelulu, snuffed out any hopes mining firms might have had about negotiating concessions following promulgation of a new Mining Code this year which does not take account of stabilisation clauses in a previous version.
“It is not the place of any participating party, whether civil society, mining companies or even the government to try to call into question the text governing the mining sector,” Reuters cited Kabwelulu as saying at a mining conference in Kolwezi today. He called on industry leaders to, instead, implement the code as it was passed.
Major mining companies including Glencore and Randgold Resources bitterly opposed the code, which axes tax exemptions and hikes royalties and profit taxes, said Reuters. They have been holding out hope it might be watered down in further negotiations.
“I call on investors to move beyond the comfort of the land and concessions that were ceded to them by different state companies … to take real risks by exploiting the rest of the country,” said Kabwelulu.
The code change could see royalties on cobalt which is a vital component in electric car batteries, increase fivefold to 10%.
