Pact Completes Design of ASM Portion of DRC Mining Sector Reform Project

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) presents a challenging paradox to government, donors, businesses and civil society. On one hand, it is a dangerous, illegal activity linked to conflict, inefficient resource use, and social ills such as child labor, community disruption, and environmental degradation. On the other hand, it is a critically important livelihood and the means of survival, directly or indirectly, for millions of people.

PROMINES is a technical assistance project of the World Bank, co-funded by DFID, to work with the DRC government to restructure the Congolese mining Sector. Its objectives are to increase the volume and value of mineral production, strengthen the management capacity of the state, and increase the benefits of mineral exploitation into growth and development. Pact was chosen to design the artisanal mining portion of the project based on its experience in the mining and ASM sectors, highly-qualified national and expatriate team, and its extensive network of partners involved in all aspects of ASM.

For PROMINES, Pact conducted field consultations at mine sites and trading towns throughout Province Orientale, North Kivu and Katanga. The study was conducted through workshops, interviews, and site visits to mines, local and regional trading hubs, and Kinshasa. Based on the results, Pact then developed recommendations for concrete, achievable, measurable and integrated actions. Among the recommendations are steps to:

• Provide technical training and support for artisanal miners;
• Reduce corruption and strengthen artisanal mining tax returns;
• Improve access to markets through transparency and traceability systems;
• Reduce the incidence of child labour in artisanal mining;
• Strengthen the role and security of women in artisanal mining; Reduce the impact of environmental degradation by artisanal mining;
• Reduce the incidence of HIV/AIDS and STDs in the artisanal mining community;
• Encourage livelihood diversification in artisanal mining areas; and,
• Provide financial services and access to microcredit for artisanal.

The design phase of the project has just ended and implementation mechanisms are currently being developed.

The final report is available for download in English (PDF 2.71MB) or French (PDF 3.4MB). For an overview of the study, read about Yves Bawa’s recent presentation on Pact’s PROMINES work at the Conflict Minerals Forum (click here).