DRC officials seized thousands of tonnes of copper and cobalt and more than 500
trucks plus other vehicles and machinery after a committee of police, military
and mining ministry officials inspected Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces, the
justice ministry said on Monday. The justice minister has ordered an
investigation into allegations of widespread illegal mining; the operation may
have uncovered mining fraud, illegal extraction and mineral smuggling. The DRC
is the world’s largest supplier of cobalt and the second-largest producer of
copper and has long struggled to prevent artisanal miners from encroaching on
large concession areas held by international mining companies.
