The positive climate for mined commodities – and battery minerals in particular – is giving the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) great opportunities to leverage its resource wealth; however, there are several challenges that mining companies in the DRC have to overcome.
These range from social and environmental impacts, mine closure, mineral resource and reserve estimates and skills development.
According to Wouter Jordaan, partner and principal environmental scientist at SRK Consulting the company has seen considerable progress in the DRC’s mining industry over the last decade or so.
Jordaan says that one of the issues that SRK needs to address is the relationship between mining companies and communities.
“An important aspect of this is the regulatory requirement for a social development plan that is developed in consultation with communities and stakeholders. SRK Consulting Congo was instrumental in developing the first such Cahier de Charge (Social Term Sheet) to be approved by the government for a mining client in the country,” says Jordaan.
“There is often a cultural and communication gap between mines and communities that makes the necessary levels of collaboration difficult".
Read the full article online
