Tilwezembe
Tilwezembe is an open-pit copper and cobalt mine in Lualaba Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo owned by Katanga Mining, a subsidiary of Glencore. Officially, Glencore has shuttered the mine, but the site is still being used by artisinal miners.
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Province | Lualaba Province |
| Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Coordinates | 10°47′58″S 25°41′32″E |
| Production | |
| Products | Copper, Cobalt |
| History | |
| Closed | 2008 (officially) |
| Owner | |
| Company | Glencore (75%) Gécamines (25%) |
| Website | www |
The mine covers an area of 7.64 square kilometres (2.95 sq mi). 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 and Tilwezembe mines. The deal was ratified by presidential decree.[1] A joint venture of Katanga Mining (75%) and Gécamines (25%), named DRC Copper and Cobalt Project SARL (DCP SARL) began mining in 2007.[2] In November 2008, Katanga Mining said they had temporarily suspended mining and ore processing at the Kolwezi concentrator due to the depressed price of cobalt.[3]
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).[4]
Working conditions
Working conditions for artisanal miners are appalling, and child labour is common.[4]
Miners sell their ore to the Lebanese company Misa Mining, who has a monopoly on the ore.[4][5] According to miners at Tilwezembe, miners are not allowed to take ore off-site, under threat of physical violence and imprisonment.[4][6] Misa Mining resells the ore to the Lebanese Bazano Group.[4][7]
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.[4]
Sixty miners died during 2011, making Tilwezembe one of the most dangerous mines in the world.[8] Miners report that Misa Mining covers up the accidents by burying the dead in secret without allowing families to recover their relatives' bodies.[4]
An April 2012 BBC Panorama investigation filmed conditions at the mine, finding some workers there as young as 10.[9][8][2] 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.[10]
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.[4] Police arrested eleven leaders of the miners' revolt, later releasing seven.[4]
- Barry Sergeant (3 Apr 2007). "Nikanor's DRC mining contract quandary". Archived from the original on 21 November 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
- "An Independent Technical Report on the Material Assets of Katanga Mining Limited..." (PDF). SRK Consulting. 17 March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2012. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
- "Kolwezi Concentrator Update" (PDF). Katanga Mining. November 21, 2008. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
- Chantal Peyer and François Mercier (2012). "Glencore in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Profit Before Human Rights and the Environment" (PDF). CIDSE. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- Amnesty International (2013-06-01). "[PDF] Profits and loss - Mining and human rights in Katanga, Democratic Republic of the Congo". Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- NKUMBA, Emmanuel Umpula (2020-06-19). "How to Reduce Conflicts Between Mining Companies and Artisanal Miners in the Province of Lualaba: Overcoming the Policy and Systemic Barriers to a Model that Respects Human Rights". Business and Human Rights Journal. 5 (2). Cambridge University Press (CUP): 296–302. doi:10.1017/bhj.2020.15. ISSN 2057-0198.
- Slater, Emma (2012-04-16). "Digging the dirt: Glencore linked to alleged 'child labour'". The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (en-GB). Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- John Sweeney (14 April 2012). "Mining giant Glencore accused in child labour and acid dumping row: London-listed company denies polluting river in Congo and profiting from children working underground". The Guardian.
- Sweeney, John (2012-04-16). "Panorama questions over Glencore mines". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
- Glencore (2012-04-16). "Glencore Response to BBC Panorama Broadcast" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-06-11.