Mining trading centre resumes operations in Kolwezi
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Actualité.cd
Congolese Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba has relaunched the Musompo trading centre in Kolwezi, with the weighing of a first lorry and the resumption of mineral analysis. The restart follows several years of inactivity and comes as artisanal miners protest over difficulties selling their production.
The Congolese Minister of Mines, Louis Watum Kabamba, restarted operations at the Musompo trading centre in Kolwezi, Lualaba province, on Monday 26 October. The restart began with the weighing of a first lorry on a refurbished weighbridge, as well as the sampling and analysis of minerals, Actualité.cd reports.
The site can process up to 250 lorries a day, but technical difficulties remain. Louis Watum Kabamba called for daily monitoring of the facilities, the removal of compliant lorries and the development of a sustainable management plan.
The centre is intended to provide reliable weighing, analyse mineral quality and ensure transparent assessment of their value. It is also meant to improve traceability of artisanal production, secure the supply chain and contribute to tax and administrative revenues. President Félix Tshisekedi inaugurated it on 5 October 2023, but the facility had remained inactive for several years.
The restart comes after more than a week of demonstrations in several neighbourhoods of Kolwezi. Artisanal miners have denounced checks at processing facilities and buying centres, which make it harder to sell their production, and called for artisanal mining zones to be effectively implemented. It follows demonstrations by artisanal miners in Kolwezi, reported on 26 October.
