NEWSECONOMY
Katanga: the Minister of Mines, Nsamba Kalambayi suspends the activities of the mining company, Boss Mining for 3 months
June 2, 2023
Kiki Kienge
By Kiki Kienge
After the Chinese company, Xiang Jiang Mining SARL exploiting gold in the province of Tshopo, the Congolese government has just sanctioned the joint venture between the group Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) of Kazakistan and Gécamines , Boss Mining which operates copper and cobalt concentrates in KAKANDA, in the District of LUBUDI 60 km from the town of LIKASI, suspending all activities of the group for a period of 3 months.
The reason for this suspension would be, according to the communiqué of the Ministry of Mines of the DR Congo, the environmental pollution of Boss Mining, this decision could be renewed if no positive modification is made by the group in the improvement of the protection environmental.
Antoinette Nsamba Kalambayi , Minister of Mines of the DR Congo, with this gesture wants to confirm the end of the impunity of the big polluters of the environment on the mining zones of the country, workhorse of her administration.
In the letter from the Minister of Mines to Boss Mining dated May 29, 2023, the Minister had informed the Director General of the now suspended Boss Mining in these terms:
“I learned through my services of the succession of incidents that occurred on your site respectively on the night of March 21 to 22 and April 9 of the current year, having caused enormous environmental damage but also losses in human lives; this situation could have been avoided or at least mitigated if, before resuming your activities in November 2022, you had taken care to audit your site environmental management system, with a view to adapting it to current conditions and include all these changes in an updated environmental plan.
Furthermore, I note that you are operating illegally, since your environmental and social impact study is no longer valid and you have accumulated numerous breaches of environmental obligations, which directly endanger the life and health of several people. .
This is why, pursuant to Article 570, paragraph 2 of the Mining Regulations, I am suspending all your mining activities for a period of three months, with the possibility of renewal of this measure, as long as you have not carried out the recommendations sent to you by the Director-Head of the Mining Environmental Protection Service, through his letter referenced 201/DPEM/2023 of 12 msi 2023.
To do this, I instruct the Head of the Provincial Division of Mines of Lualaba, who read me a copy, to strictly enforce this decision and also request the involvement of the Provincial Governor in this regard.
The Secretary General for Mines is invited to take all the necessary measures to repair the damage suffered by the communities following these incidents. »
Communication Unit Ministry of Mines of the DR Congo.