Change in the region is arduous and slow to take hold, but miners have seen their wages incrementally increase, in some mines threefold. In the past, a miner would hope to get around US$2 for a kilogram of cassiterite (about 2.2 lbs). Now, Maheshe says, he makes about US$5. Tin, tungsten and tantalum that do not go through conflict-free programs now sell for 30 to 60 percent less, thus reducing profits for armed groups trying to sell them. As a result, armed groups and the Congolese army are no longer present at two-thirds (67 percent) of tin, tantalum and tungsten mines. The miners agree that the “bag and tag” system, whereby every piece of mined ore validated as conflict-free within the region is traceable back to its source, is hugely beneficial. “If this tagging system is implemented throughout our country, our hope is that poverty will decrease, says Maheshe. The irony that the minerals mined in the DRC are used to make cellular telephones and other electronics is not lost on the miners, who would love nothing more than to have a viable cellular network and a means of communicating. “The Congolese have rights that have to respected,” said Maheshe. “I want to inform the world that the DRC needs its population to somehow profit from the fruits of its soil.” Twenty-one companies now source from 16 conflict-free mines in Congo, in contrast to one conflict-free mine that was operating in 2011. Living conditions are slowly improving. Communities near conflict-free mining projects experience a greatly reduced presence of armed groups, and hospitals and schools are starting to be built in those areas.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 04:50:53 +0000
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