UAE signs deal to develop mines in eastern DR Congo (Al Jazeera – July 18, 2023)

https://www.aljazeera.com/

The agreement is reached after the DRC signed a 25-year contract in December with a UAE firm over export rights for artisanally mined ores.

The United Arab Emirates has signed a $1.9bn deal with a state mining company in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to develop at least four mines in the African country’s turbulent east, the Congolese presidency says.

President Felix Tshisekedi’s office said on Monday that an Emirati government delegation had signed the partnership in the capital, Kinshasa, with Societe Aurifere du Kivu et du Maniema (Sakima). The deal would see the “construction of more than 4 industrial mines” in the provinces of South Kivu and Maniema, according to the statement.

State-owned Sakima has mining concessions for tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold in that part of the DRC. The statement gave no other details about the deal, including what type of minerals would be extracted.

The agreement was inked after the DRC signed a 25-year contract in December with UAE firm Primera Group over export rights for some artisanally mined ores. Those are metals extracted by independent miners who are not employed by mining companies.

For the rest of this article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/18/uae-signs-deal-to-develop-mines-in-eastern-dr-congo