The Minister of Mines, Martin Kabwelulu, inaugurated on Saturday, October 11 Likasi road 80 km from Lubumbashi, the mining plant production operating company Kipoi (SEK) in the presence of the Vice Governor of Katanga, Guibert Paul Yav Tshibal, MPs and provincial ministers and several guests.
In his speech for the occasion, he said that this event is the culmination of efforts by the Head of State, Joseph Kabila, to create a business climate conducive to investment in the DRC.
He said that this is a new era of creating more value mining before congratulate those responsible for SEK which, despite the weak economy at the time, managed to move from the stage of production concentrated than that of copper cathodes.
Martin Kabwelulu said that this year the DRC recorded mineral production that exceeds the threshold of one million tonnes of copper concentrates, before bemoaning the paradox between the high level of mining investment and the very low taxes and royalties mining paid to the Congolese state.
For him, the Government of the Republic and the mining company needs a transparency system for analyzing these investments, concluded the Minister of Mines.
For their part, the Chairman of the Board and CEO of SEK paid tribute to the Congolese Head of State for the restored peace which has made possible the installation of this company and the provincial government of Katanga for his support for this project.
They added that the mining company started operating, there 7 years with an investment of $ 60 million for the first phase and had a production of 36 million tonnes of copper per year. Today this investment increased to $ 380 million.
SEK has already created 350 direct jobs and has already built a modern school with a capacity of 600 students, a maternity unit with the latest equipment and funded the drilling of water wells and provided agricultural inputs to farmers in the village Katanga in the fight against food insecurity.
Lubumbashi, 13/10/2014 (ACP / MCN via mediacongo.net)
