Our Work
Scaling Up iTSCi
The Scaling Up ITSCI project aims to expand ITSCI’s progress and strengthen long-term regional stability by improving governance and social benefits while enhancing the economic benefits of 3T mining to local artisanal and small-scale mining communities.
Activities include, collaborating with and supporting stakeholders in the mining sector to improve due diligence processes, living and production standards, while addressing occupational health and safety at mine sites and delivering livelihood programming for men and women miners through literacy, savings and small business development.
BURUNDI
“We used to work secretly and we were always afraid that the police would arrest us”
Rwanda
“I am proud to be a model of empowerment and show others that it is possible for women to work hard and earn well in the mine”
Katanga Region (DRC)
“I understood that my place was not in the pits, but on a school bench”
Maniema Province (DRC)
“Now, all members of our Provincial Monitoring Committee will be able to collect information on incidents, report back, and take action”
South Kivu Province (DRC)
“With the Occupational Health and Safety Committee now in place, we have changed our working habits to lower dangers in the pits”
North Kivu Province (DRC)
“WORTH will strengthen cohesion amongst people in my village. It will help them go forward and empower them to better support themselves”
Where we work
Progress
With joint efforts from governments of the region, the government of the Netherlands and the international 3T industry, the Scaling Up ITSCI project aims to unlock ASM sector’s potential to be an effective force for development and peace in the region.
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Men & Women Miners 54,836 |
Active Mine Sites 727 |
Local Stakeholder Committees 39
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Government Agents 672 |
News and Stories From The Field
Learn more about Scaling Up ITSCI through our stories from the field and stay updated with the latest news and reports of project activities and artisanal and small-scale mining recent developments by clicking on the links below.
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Activities per Region
Democratic Republic of Congo
In the DRC, the ITSCI system operates in four provinces in close collaboration with government services under the Ministry of Energy and Mines. Over 35,000 miners in these areas now have access to the international market to sell their 3T conflict-free minerals and reap the benefits of their work with families and communities.
Katanga
Recently divided into four provinces (Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Haut-Katanga and Lualaba), Katanga is the largest ITSCI project area with more miners than any other project area and largest production of 3Ts in the DRC. Besides supporting the implementation of the ITSCI program in areas within the four new provinces, Scaling up ITSCI strengthens data collection systems for traceability, provides capacity building for local NGO partners, government agents, local businesses as well as miners through due diligence trainings. WORTH for miners has also been implemented in the Manono area, and complements current Pact work on child labor in the area.
| 17,466 |
Miners working in ITSCI sitesMiners work in a safer environment exempt of armed group involvement or human rights violations. |
| 272 |
Mine sites within the ITSCI systemProduction from these mines sites is traceable and the mine sites are monitored by local stakeholder committees. |
| 9 |
Local stakeholder committees supportedCapacity building and support is provided for both Provincial and Local Committees. |
Learn more about about how the project supports efforts at reducing worst forms of child labor in Katanga through the WIM project.
Maniema
Many of Maniema's mining sites are found in remote areas, and due to inadequate infrastructure and poor conditions of roads, access to these sites continues to be a major challenge for Maniema's mining sector. Since the start of the ITSCI system in the province in 2012, the number of active sites has increased, unlocking the potential of ASM in the province and improving the lives of more than 5,000 miners.
| 5,512 |
Miners working in ITSCI sitesMiners work in a safer environment exempt of armed group involvement or human rights violations. |
| 276 |
Mine sites within the ITSCI systemProduction from these mines sites is traceable and the mine sites are monitored by local stakeholder committees. |
| 7 |
Local stakeholder committees supportedCapacity building and support is provided for both Provincial and Local Committees. |
Learn more about how local stakeholder committees in Maniema receive training on Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
South Kivu
ITSCI's first pilot program started in South Kivu in 2010. However, when the Dodd-Frank Act was passed and DRC President Joseph Kabila ordered a suspension of all artisanal mining activities in the Kivus, the project had to be halted temporarily. It was only in 2012, thanks to the Conflict-Free Tin Initiative (CFTI), that ITSCI resumed in the Kivus. CFTI has been instrumental in showing end users that conflict-free minerals could be sourced from areas in Eastern Congo. Since then, the Scaling Up ITSCI project has helped in the expansion of the ITSCI program, including the territory of Shabunda, known for its mining potential despite the current volatile security situation in the area.
| 4,066 |
Miners working in ITSCI sitesMiners work in a safer environment exempt of armed group involvement or human rights violations. |
| 83 |
Mine sites within the ITSCI systemProduction from these mines sites is traceable and the mine sites are monitored by local stakeholder committees. |
| 11 |
Local stakeholder committees supportedCapacity building and support is provided for both Provincial and Local Committees. |
Learn more about how health and safety are improving for miners and their communities in South Kivu.
North Kivu
North Kivu was at the heart of the advocacy campaign that led to the adoption of section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act on conflict minerals, an unintended consequence of which was that tens of thousands of miners lost their livelihoods. Starting activities in the volatile province in March 2014 was one of the biggest achievements of the ITSCI program, since it demonstrated that conflict-free minerals could be sourced from this province. Thanks to the Scaling up ITSCI project, since 2015, mines in the territories of Walikale and Lubero have been added to the program, ensuring that mining communities can sustain their livelihoods in a more peaceful environment. WORTH for miners has also been implemented in Rubaya and it is helping women and men in mining communities start their savings and improve their livelihoods.
| 8,214 |
Miners working in ITSCI sitesMiners work in a safer environment exempt of armed group involvement or human rights violations. |
| 117 |
Mine sites within the ITSCI systemProduction from these mines sites is traceable and the mine sites are monitored by local stakeholder committees. |
| 8 |
Local stakeholder committees supportedCapacity building and support is provided for both Provincial and Local Committees. |
Learn more about how mineral revenues in the province is helping improve the lives of miners and their communities through community initiatives.
Rwanda
In Rwanda, implementation of the ITSCI system began in 2011 and covers the entire country. Since then, national law and policies have been passed that ensure all minerals exported must be traced. To date, ITSCI is the only scaled-up traceability and due diligence system in the country.
Thanks to ITSCI, close to 16,000 miners’ livelihoods are protected. ITSCI works closely with government employees from the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board, and is assisting with trainings encompassing traceability, due diligence, occupational health and safety. ITSCI is also piloting electronic data collection in Rwanda.
| 15,904 |
Miners working in ITSCI sitesMiners work in a safer environment exempt of armed group involvement or human rights violations. |
| 893 |
Mine sites wihtin the ITSCI systemProduction from these mines sites is traceable and the mine sites are monitored by local stakeholder committees. |
| 1 |
Local stakeholder committees supportedCapacity building and support is provided for both Provincial and Local Committees. |
Learn more about how the project contributes to women empowerment in the mines of Rwanda.
Burundi
In Burundi, implementation of the ITSCI system began in 2014 and covers the entire country. Political and security uncertainties in Burundi led to the project stalling in 2015 and 2016.
Thanks to support from the ‘Scaling up ITSCI’ project, ITSCI remained operational during 2015 and 2016 amidst political and security instability, albeit at a reduced level of activity. Burundi’s revision of the Mining Code and related regulations, however, has led to renewed dynamism in the mining sector, and more formalization of ASM operations late 2016 and 2017.
| 3,304 |
Miners working in ITSCI sitesMiners work in a safer environment exempt of armed group involvement or human rights violations. |
| 49 |
Mine sites within the ITSCI systemProduction from these mines sites is traceable and the mine sites are monitored by local stakeholder committees. |
| 2 |
Local stakeholder committees supportedCapacity building and support is provided for both Provincial and Local Committees. |
Learn more about how artisanal and small-Scale mining formalisation has helped miner communities prosper.
Local Stakeholder Meeting Summaries
| File Name | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Kalemie, Katanga, DRC | 03/11/2016 | After welcoming participants and the adoption of last meeting's minutes, participants discussed the status of tagging procedures and performance in Kalemie as well as incidents involving clandestine negociants in Djimbwe subsector… |
| Nyabibwe, South Kivu, DRC | 03/04/2016 | After welcoming participants, the meeting started with the adoption of the previous meeting minutes, followed by the evaluation of planned actions… |
| Kasese, Maniema, DRC | 03/01/2016 | After welcoming participants, the meeting delved into three main topics that all agreed to discuss; the evaluation of tagging procedures and performance so far, land conflicts erupting in some areas of Kasese, and the consequences of mineral prices decreasing in the international market… |
| Nyabibwe, South Kivu, DRC | 01/29/2016 | After welcoming participants, the meeting started with the adoption of the previous meeting minutes, followed by the evaluation of planned actions… |