Tag Archives: mining

Beijing, China | AFP | A Chinese metal trading firm said Thursday it is investigating whether children are toiling in Congolese mines that supply it with cobalt, a key resource for mobile phones and electric cars. Yantai Cash, a cobalt exporter based in eastern Shandong province, told AFP that it is …

Freetown, Sierra Leone | AFP | Sierra Leone said Saturday miners had unearthed a huge 476-carat diamond, eight months after an even more valuable find in the country’s diamond-rich east. It appears to be the 29th largest diamond ever found, according to experts, but it is unclear what the hefty stone …

THIS WEEK: Dispute threatens Karamoja mining deal Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Residents in Kosiroi village, Tapac sub-county in Moroto district in the north eastern part of the country have issued a warning to cancel a mining concession granted to Tororo Cement Limited over failure to sign a Memorandum of …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP |  Some $750 million (644 million euros) in revenue from Democratic Republic of Congo’s mines between 2011 and 2014 “cannot be reliably tracked” in the records of the state-owned Gecamines, the Carter Center said Friday. The US foundation, in a report, suggested Gecamines used “its …

Fake investors and effects of government delaying survey of mineral-rich region Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Big money is coming into Uganda from mining activity in various parts of the country and more could come in, especially if Karamoja which is considered “the basket of Uganda’s minerals” is surveyed. …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Wednesday ordered the army to build a wall around the country’s tanzanite mines to prevent smuggling and better control exports of the precious gems unique to the East African country. The deep blue or royal purple stones are mined in …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | The Tanzanian government said Sunday it had confiscated diamonds worth nearly $30 million after accusing British company Petra Diamonds of having declared a lower value when trying to export the gems. Speaking on government television channel TBC 1, Finance Minister Philip Mpango said the diamonds extracted …

Marikana, South Africa | AFP | At the site of the 2012 Marikana massacre where police shot dead 34 strikers, thousands of South African miners sang remembrance songs Wednesday as campaigners demanded prosecutions and compensation. The 34 miners were gunned down after police were deployed to break up a wildcat strike …

Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana has long been known for its bountiful gold reserves and was called “the Gold Coast” during its colonial era. But illegal mining in Africa’s second largest producer is taking a heavy human as well as environmental and economic toll with more than $2 billion lost …

Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania| AFRICAN ARGUMENTS |  Ever since his election in 2015, Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has been a subject of public fascination. At first, his war on graft promised to cleanse the state of corruption, while his patriotic thrift inspired the hashtag #WhatWouldMagufuliDo? But as this campaign of tumbua majipu (“lance the boils”) was …