Tilwezembe is an open-pit copper and cobalt mine in

Lualaba Province Lualaba Province (''Jimbo la Lualaba'', in Swahili) is a province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning when the former Katanga province was split up into four new provinces—Lualaba, Haut-Katanga, Haut- ...

of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

owned by Katanga Mining, a subsidiary of

Glencore Glencore plc is an Anglo-Swiss Multinational corporation, multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas headquarters are in London, London, England as well a ...

. Officially, Glencore has shuttered the mine, but the site is still being used by artisinal miners.

History

The mine covers an area of . It has an indicated nine million tonnes of ore with 1.89% copper and 0.60% cobalt. Mining in the Tilwezambe pit has taken place off and on since 1999. At first this was done by the state-owned Gécamines using contract labor. In March 2004, Dan Gertler International and Beny Steinmetz Global founded a firm named Global Enterprises Corporate (GEC). In 2004 GEC and Gécamines agreed to rehabilitate and operate the

Kananga Kananga, formerly known as Luluabourg or Luluaburg, is the capital Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city of the Kasai-Central, Kasai-Central Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the capital of the former Kasaï ...

and Tilwezembe mines. The deal was ratified by presidential decree. A joint venture of Katanga Mining (75%) and Gécamines (25%), named ''DRC Copper and Cobalt Project SARL'' (DCP SARL) began mining in 2007. In November 2008, Katanga Mining said they had temporarily suspended mining and ore processing at the

Kolwezi Kolwezi or Kolwesi is the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Likasi. It has an airport and a railway to Lubumbashi. Just outside of Kolwezi there is the static inverter plant of the ...

concentrator due to the depressed price of cobalt.

Activity since official closure

Around 2010, after the mine was officially shuttered, artisanal miners took over. These miners work with technical support from the ''Service d’Assistance et d’Encadrement du Small Scale Mining'' (Small-scale-mining technical assistance and training service - SAESSCAM) and are organised by the Maadini Kwa Kilimo Cooperative (CMKK).

Working conditions

Working conditions for artisanal miners are appalling, and child labour is common. Miners sell their ore to the Lebanese company Misa Mining, who has a monopoly on the ore. According to miners at Tilwezembe, miners are not allowed to take ore off-site, under threat of physical violence and imprisonment. Misa Mining resells the ore to the Lebanese Bazano Group. Misa Mining controls testing of the ore to determine cobalt and copper content, and an investigation in 2011-2012 found evidence that they systematically undervalue the metal content and did not honestly measured the weight of the ore. Sixty miners died during 2011, making Tilwezembe one of the most dangerous mines in the world. Miners report that Misa Mining covers up the accidents by burying the dead in secret without allowing families to recover their relatives' bodies. An April 2012

BBC Panorama ''Panorama'' is a British current affairs documentary programme broadcast on the BBC. First broadcast in 1953, it is the world's longest-running television news magazine programme. ''Panorama'' has been presented by many well-known BBC presen ...

investigation filmed conditions at the mine, finding some workers there as young as 10. In response to the allegations, Glencore denied any association with the operations on their property, claiming that they make efforts to avoid processing material sourced from artisanal mining.

Revolt

On December 24 and 25, 2011 miners revolted. A local NGO reported that protestors demanded an end to manipulation of the ore grading, fair monetary exchange rates, and an end to secret burials of dead miners. Police arrested eleven leaders of the miners' revolt, later releasing seven.

References

{{reflist , refs= {{cite web , url = http://www.investis.com/kat/operations/reportsoperational/techreport-mar09.pdf , title = An Independent Technical Report on the Material Assets of Katanga Mining Limited... , date = 17 March 2009 , publisher = SRK Consulting , accessdate = 2011-11-06 , url-status = dead , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120506114820/http://www.investis.com/kat/operations/reportsoperational/techreport-mar09.pdf , archivedate = 6 May 2012 Copper mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Mining in Lualaba Province 1999 establishments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Cobalt mining companies Environmental justice Child labour

History

Activity since official closure

Working conditions

Revolt

See also

References