News in Kinsafu: Artisanal miners angry over loss of portion of mining concession
The tension was palpable this week in Kinsafu, a region located near the city of Kolwezi, in the province of Lualaba, in the south-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Artisanal miners rose up, accusing the army of having confiscated part of their mining concession in Kisangala, where they had been working for several months. Their frustration reached its climax, resulting in the barricade of national road number 39 to express their displeasure. Economic activities were paralyzed until Friday morning in Kinsafu.
The situation is linked to the mining concession of Boss Mining in Kisangala. For several years, artisanal diggers had been working on a portion of this concession, known as the “motorcycle pump”, while the rest was exploited by Lebanese partners. The conflict erupted when soldiers from the 22nd region took control of the small portion allocated to the craftsmen, provoking a revolt by the workers. They thus decided to block the road to claim the return of their control on this ground.
The angry miners sent a ten-person delegation to Kolwezi to meet with provincial authorities and seek a solution to this dispute. According to Gauthier Kayombo, a local civil society official, the disorder and insecurity will only end if the competent authorities intervene to resolve this problem.
Robert Maoze, chief of the rural district of Kisanfu, explains that the Kisangala diggers had received a portion of land from the provincial authorities. However, the presence of many soldiers in the quarry and their appropriation of the part allocated to the craftsmen sparked their revolt. The demonstrators are thus demanding complete control of their portion of land.
This situation highlights the challenges faced by artisanal miners in the DRC. Balancing the interests of big business and those of informal workers is essential to ensuring fair and sustainable mining.
It is now crucial that the authorities take steps to resolve this dispute, in order to restore order and trust between the various actors in the mining industry in Kinsafu. The solutions must be fair and allow artisanal miners to continue to work while respecting the rules and regulations in force.
The mining sector in the DRC is a pillar of the national economy and it is imperative to support artisanal workers while ensuring responsible exploitation of the country’s natural resources.. A consultation between the actors concerned is necessary to reach a consensus and guarantee a more stable and promising future for the artisanal miners of Kinsafu and all of the DRC