DRC moves to restore operations at Kolwezi mineral evaluation centre
Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba inspected facilities at the Centre for Evaluation, Expertise and Certification as the government aims to improve transparency in artisanal mining and strengthen oversight of the sector
The Congolese Minister of Mines, Louis Watum Kabamba, visited Kolwezi on Sunday, October 25, as part of a government mission to clean up the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The mission, backed by President Félix Tshisekedi, included an inspection of facilities and technical services at the Centre for Evaluation, Expertise and Certification (CEEC), including its weighbridges and laboratory.
The inspection was important as the facilities had been inactive for several years and needed to be assessed before operations could resume.
“On site, the first operations were initiated, with the weighing of a first truck on the overpass that has been put into commission, as well as the launch of sampling and analysis operations for minerals,” read a statement from the minister.
The statement added that technical challenges remained and were being addressed to allow the centre to gradually increase its capacity, which is estimated at 250 trucks per day.
Kabamba also stressed the need to ensure that mining cooperatives have transparent marketing conditions based on reliable weighing, accurate mineral analysis and fair valuation of minerals and their by-products.
He instructed the relevant officials to monitor the centre’s operations daily, facilitate the movement of trucks in line with regulations and develop a sustainable management plan for the facility.
These measures are intended to ensure that Congolese artisanal miners receive fair value for their minerals and by-products.
As part of efforts to remove armed personnel from mining sites and strengthen the management of artisanal mining through designated artisanal mining zones (ZEAs), Kabamba also held a working session with the inter-services commission at the headquarters of the General Directorate of Migration (DGM).
The mission aims to restore state authority over mining sites and improve oversight of the sector, while ensuring that artisanal mining activities are managed within the established regulatory framework.
Such initiatives are important for the overall mining sector because instead of criminalising artisanal mining, which feeds a lot of families, it helps help participate in mining in a more regulated way. In countries like Kenya, they have curbed illegal mining by formalising artisanal mining cooperatives and introducing artisanal mining committees.
