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Tshikapa River Project | Longatshimo River Project

The Democratic Republic of the Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960. After independence Colonel Joseph Mobuto Sese Seko came into power and renamed the country, Zaire. In 1997 he was overthrown by Laurent Kabila who made himself president and changed the country’s name to the DRC. Since then the DRC has had two more presidents and a civil war, commencing in 1998. Laurent Kabila was assassinated in January 2001. His son, Joseph Kabila, succeeded him as Chief of State and Head of Government and commenced negotiations with the rebel leaders to establish a transitional government. This was achieved in July 2003 and since then the country has been generally peaceful. Elections are scheduled to be held in July 2006 to allocate National Assembly seats and elect a president.

Since peace was re-established in 2003 the country has seen the return of international investment, particularly in the minerals industry. According to the CIA World Fact Book on the DRC, exports of minerals have increased and the GDP has been boosted. The GDP is estimated to be US$46.3bn for 2005. The real GDP growth rate has increased from 3.0% in 2001 to an estimated 6.5% in 2005. Exports were estimated to be US$1.1bn in 2004, with earnings comprised predominately from diamonds, copper, coffee and sugar. The country has seen significant improvements in the inflation rate from 135% in 2001 to 9% for 2004.

The country is well known for its extensive mineral wealth, especially the Copper Belt situated in the Katanga Province along the border with Zambia. The copper mines were historically operated by the State producer La Generale des Carrieres et des Mines (“Gecamines”) but due to the war the mines fell into disrepair and became uneconomic. In recent years the copper mines have received extensive interest from large international mining companies. These mines are being redeveloped. Official records of 2003 mineral production from the province include 12,000t of cobalt and 52,700t of copper.

The DRC is a major diamond producer primarily from artisanal operations situated in the Tshikapa, Mbuji Mayi and Kinsingani areas. The production reported for 2003 amounted to 21.1Mcts and represents 75% of the country’s total alluvial production. The remainder is sourced from La Societe Miniere de Bakwanga’s (“MIBA”) Mbuji Mayi mine in the Kasai Province. International mining companies have returned to the diamond areas within the DRC and are actively exploring for both alluvial and kimberlite deposits. The DRC is a member of the Kimberley Process.

International companies with exploration and/or mining interests in the DRC include BHP Billiton, De Beers Group, Anvil Mining NL, Kinross Gold Corporation, Adastra Minerals Inc, SouthernEra Diamonds Inc, Gravity Diamonds Ltd, GEM Mining, Metorex Ltd and Banro Corporation.

With the assistance of the World Bank, the New Mining Code (“NMC”) was passed in July 2002. The NMC governs the prospecting, exploration, exploitation, processing, transportation and sale of mineral commodities. All rights to minerals are vested in the State, and the State is responsible for the promotion and regulation of developments in the sector.

The type, duration and special requirement of the various licenses issued by the Mining Registry is summarised in the Table below. Licenses are only granted through an agent domiciled in the DRC or through a tender process in the case of “valuable known mineral deposits”.