Stories from the Field

Already under threat from the economic shocks of the global crisis, protecting the health of ASM mining communities and stopping further disruption to their livelihoods is essential. Since the beginning of the pandemic, ITSCI has leveraged its extensive field network...

In Numbi, management of ITSCI tags was a point of tension and suspicion. The concession owner SAKIMA, the mining company AMUR and the local cooperative COPAMIHANUBU were on one side, and state technical services SAEMAPE and Divimines were on the other. The presence of...

A radio campaign was launched in DRC broadcasting every month over 500 spots in both French and Swahili on 21 radio stations. In Maniema province’s Lubutu territory Hugo Assani Muloba, a host of “Umoja ya Lubutu” radio station, noticed the interest of his audience on...

In 2019, Burundi inaugurated its National Steering Committee for 3T Mineral Traceability and Due Diligence. The NSC follows the model established by ITSCI in neighbouring DRC, and is one of the recommendations from the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible...

In December 2019, members of the Public-Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA) had the opportunity to visit ITSCI mine sites in the Great Lakes region. Representatives of the U.S. government, PPA Secretariat, and downstream companies toured mines in the...

Since it started operations in Muhanda, ITSCI member NL Mining Ltd has had a positive impact on the community through the eradication of illegal mining and Corporate Social Responsibility actions carried out in partnership with the local community and local...

When ITSCI expands to new areas, the team begins by establishing and training a local multi-stakeholder committee. In Bitale, ITSCI, accompanied by a delegation led by the Provincial Minister of Mines' Cabinet Director, trained 62 participants in April 2019. The...

In the Pangi territory, the benefits of the ITSCI programme have transformed a decades-long local conflict. Since 1975, the Nbizu, Ngozi and Kayeye clans have been in a protracted land dispute. The clans disagreed about the boundaries between each community’s land in...

In July 2019, the Burundian government stressed the importance of the mining sector, which contributes more to the national economy than the traditional exports such as coffee and tea. ITSCI covers 155 sites in 21 communes in Burundi and directly employs at least...

In 2015, the United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), composed of 17 goals aimed to be achieved by 2030. Under Goal 8, which promotes decent work and economic growth for all, target 8.7 calls for an end to child labour worldwide by 2025....

ITSCI and the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMB) took the opportunity in organising a mine site visit on 17 October 2018 for the 150 delegates attending the 59th Tantalum Niobium International Study Center (T.I.C.) in Kigali, Rwanda. This allowed for the...

The ITSCI traceability and due diligence programme was piloted in 2010 at one mine in DRC's South Kivu province. Eight years later, ITSCI covers seven DRC provinces and nearly 1,000 sites where 40,000-plus artisanal miners extract and sell conflict-free 3T minerals....