Mine collapse in Congo kills at least 41 people

At least 41 artisanal miners lost their lives Thursday when a copper and cobalt mine site in which they were working at collapsed in south-eastern Congo, official sources say.

According to the Governor of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Lualaba province Richard Muyej, the mine, owned by Glencore, caved in as a result of the “clandestine artisanal miners who had infiltrated it”. The old terraces are said to have collapsed forcing quite some significant material to fall. While speaking to news agencies, the governor added that the mine which collapsed is a risky one.

The company which owns the mine was assisting in the search and rescue mission by the time of this publication.

Statistics indicate that artisanal mining, right on the edges of established or commercial mines, are becoming quite a big problem across Africa. The kind of practices and means that the artisanal miners employ are said to be endangering their lives.

In southern Congo alone, thousands of illegal miners are reported to operate especially in cobalt mine sites where this mineral mainly used as a key component in electric car batteries is mined. The Glencore said in a statement that about 2,000 illegal miners usually sneak into their mining site which y the largest copper deposits on a daily basis.

The Secretary General of the mine’s union of workers said they had noticed and reported a crack in the mine on Wednesday and a red warning sign had already been put up by the company to warn miners but some ignored it.

Back in 2016, a 250M wall inside the same mine site collapsed claiming seven lives.

In February this year, twenty miners died after a truck which was carrying acid to Glencore’s Mutanda Mine in Congo collided two vehicles.

Africa Global News Publication