News
Coltan listed by DRC as ‘strategic’
Coltan is among minerals now classified by the DRC as ‘strategic’ substances meaning that it will be subject to an increased royalty rate of 10% under the recently changed Mining Code. According to Reuters, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Mines signed a decree...
ITSCI staff training for continued improvement
With the ITSCI programme now operating in four countries, training events for project staff are an international affair. In July, project managers and reporting officers for Burundi, Rwanda, the DRC and Uganda convened in Bujumbura, Burundi for extensive training....
Uganda to biometrically register artisanal miners
The Uganda Daily Monitor reported that the Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development will biometrically register Uganda’s artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM). The process budgeted at US$350,000 aims to provide clarity and transparency to the small mining...
OECD rates ITSCI programme highest in responsible minerals assessment
A detailed assessment by the OECD recently concluded that the standards of the ITSCI Programme are 100% aligned with the 5 Step due diligence recommendations of the OECD’s internationally accepted guidance for good company management, risk assessment and mitigation,...
DRC Mining Regulations drafted as expected
Reuters reported that the commission set up to draft detailed regulations to implement the new DRC mining code has completed its work with limited concessions to the requests of large mining companies in the country. The 700+-page draft which has been circulated by...
UK MP meets International Tin Association on conflict minerals
UK Member of Parliament Anne Main has met with the International Tin Association as part of her campaign to highlight the need for greater UK government support of measures to regulate minerals supply chains, ensuring that armed conflict and human rights abuses are...
Enough report commends Apple for ITSCI engagement
US NGO Enough Project has published ‘Demand the Supply’, including its 2017 conflict minerals company rankings, commending Apple as a ‘clear leader’, in particular receiving full credit for identifying and tracking supply chain incidents. As detailed in Apple’s 2016...
Former South Kivu anti-fraud chief jailed for life
Abbas Kayonga, former anti-fraud commission chief for the South Kivu Province of DRC was jailed for life by a military court in Bukavu on 20th March 2018 on charges of rebellion, murder and the illegal possession of weapons. Mr Kayonga and the South Kivu Anti-Fraud...
DRC mineral royalty increases with mining code revision
Revision of the DRC’s 2002 mining code was concluded by parliament in late January, and signed into law by President Kabila on 9th March 2018 despite intense lobbying by mining companies such as Glencore. The new code introduces various major fiscal and regulatory...