King Leopold's mines

The mining sector in the DR of Congo is mainly informal (artisanal miners), but it is progressing in formalization (arrival of MNCs) since the approval of the Mining Code (2002). Two economic and political models are present in the different regions of the country: a model of high conflict (North and South Kivu) where armed groups are controlling and illegally taxing the extraction and trade of minerals by artisanal miners; and a model of low conflict (Katanga, Eaast and West Kasai), where no armed groups are operating and MNCs are exploiting industrially the mineral richness to export metals or processed ores. The Booklet describes both models and presents recomendations to put the mineral richness of the country at the service of the local population.