NORTH KIVU, DRC -- iTSCi has launched a program for traceability and due diligence of tin, tantalum and tungsten in DRC in two areas here, part of the organization's attempt to bring oversight to mining operations in this war-torn area. 

The new mines are some of the remotest in Lubero territory, which is north of the provincial capital of Goma, and in the historically infamous "conflict minerals" region of Walikale territory, west of Goma.

From about 2006 to 2009 the Bisie mine in Walikale reportedly produced around 75% of the cassiterite from the entire central African region and was alleged to be controlled by various military groups including brigades of the Congolese army, iTSCi said. "Soldiers were reported to be both physically present in the mine as well as collecting payments from miners and traders at roadblocks along the transport routes. This situation was the main driver of the ‘conflict minerals’ campaigns of NGOs and their support for the US Dodd-Frank Act, as well as the cause of key buyers leaving the area, and the start of a de facto embargo on the province from 2011."

Production of cassiterite from the DRC in 2014 was just under 7,000 tonnes of concentrate, around one-third of its peak in 2008.

Much has changed in the past four years, however, the orgqnization says, and, following official validation of areas worked by artisanal miners across Walikale as "green" by a team of stakeholders, those mines will be integrated into the iTSCi Programme to enable conflict-free minerals to be exported in the international market.

Bisie is not included in this extension of iTSCi since an industrial mine is being developed on that site with significant large scale production expected to begin in 2018, representing a new kind of economic opportunity for the area, the firm said.

The number of artisanal mines and miners that could restart working across Walikale are not known. The start of iTSCi, however, demonstrates that this area can move from its "conflict reputation to a more stable future" the group said.

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