Congo tightens control around SOREMI
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Vox Congo
Congo’s Mining Industries Minister, Urbain Fiacre Opo, wants the operational perimeter of the Mining Research and Exploitation Company in Bouenza to be respected. He found heavy machinery and explosives being used by companies without industrial permits, Vox Congo reports.
Congo’s Minister of Mining Industries and Geology, Urbain Fiacre Opo, asked companies operating without permits to remove their heavy machinery from SOREMI’s perimeter in Bouenza department. He made the announcement after an inspection visit to the Yanga Koubenza and Boko Songo sites, according to Vox Congo.
The minister found that some companies were continuing mechanised mining despite a notice banning heavy machinery and explosives for artisanal mining. The authorisations granted covered only manual work supervising artisanal miners. Opo announced that discussions with SOREMI would continue and that the companies concerned would soon be summoned, with sanctions provided for under the regulations if they failed to comply.
The prefect of Bouenza, Marcel Ganongo, also criticised the presence of the machinery at the sites, saying it was turning artisanal activity into industrial mining. The government had already called for mining rules to be respected in Mfouati on 28 October, as part of efforts to protect SOREMI’s perimeter.
