Loading AI tools
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 | |
|---|---|
  Tilwezembe | |
| 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]
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
