DRC, UAE seal US $2bn mining deal
The Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have sealed a US $2billion deal that will involve exploitation of 3Ts minerals (Tantalum or Coltan, Tungsten, and Tin) in the Kivu region of eastern DRC.
The contract was signed between the state-owned firm Société aurifère du Kivu et du Maniema (Sakima SA) and Primera Mining, an Emirati company in the presence of President Félix Tshisekedi, who had previously received a delegation from the UAE led by Sheilk Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates.
Doors to opportunities
The partnership between the DRC and the UAE adds to existing mineral exploration efforts by the UAE in South Kivu province through the firm Primera Gold. President Tshisekedi expressed his belief that this new partnership could be transformative for the Congolese people, particularly those in the east of the country. He hopes that the project will create more business opportunities in the Kivu region, providing an alternative to the activities of armed groups that have made the region unsafe for the last three decades in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
It’s worth noting that in June 2021, the DRC and Rwanda signed a cooperation partnership for gold mining with the aim of depriving armed groups of income from gold mining in eastern Congo. However, due to the resumption of the M23 war, which Kinshasa claims is supported by Rwanda, the partnership between Sakima SA and the Rwandan company Dither LTD was suspended from May 2022.
