Congo plans to build special economic zone for cobalt users
KINSHASA – The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to establish special economic zones for companies that manufacture goods from the country’s minerals, President Joseph Kabila said.
“There is a need to create special economic zones for the final users of Congolese natural resources,” Kabila said at a conference Wednesday in the southeastern city of Kolwezi. The area will allow producers of electric vehicles, smartphones and other goods to “install themselves in the DRC,” he said.
Congo is the world’s biggest source of cobalt, which is used to make rechargeable batteries in electric cars manufactured by companies including Volkswagen. The country also produces more than a quarter of the world’s tantalum, used in Apple iPhones and other smartphones.
Mines Minster Martin Kabwelulu, who spoke earlier at the conference, also reiterated that the government won’t brook any opposition to an amended mining code it began implementing in June. The regulations introduced new taxes and increased royalty payments, drawing criticism from miners including Glencore, Randgold Resources and China Molybdenum, which have threatened to sue to protect their investments.
Nobody, whether a company, civil society group or government, should “attempt to question this text governing the mining sector”, Kabwelulu said. “All that I would allow myself to say is to invite the different stakeholders, each following his own position, to commit themselves to implementing the measures of the revised mining law.”
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