By Eric OnstadKOLWEZI, Congo, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Amid rusted...

By Eric Onstad

KOLWEZI, Congo, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Amid rusted hulks of
abandoned plants and huge mine craters, Congo's former top
copper town Kolwezi is showing signs of a reawakening.

The town in the southeastern copperbelt went into virtual
hibernation two decades ago after looting by former dictator
Mobutu Sese Seko forced the closure of most of the region's
copper mines, some of the world's biggest.

"Over the last couple of years the changes here have been
enormous," said Martin Christie, an official with
Canadian-listed Katanga Mining, one of many firms reviving the
mining industry.

"A petrol station reopened a few months ago. There was no
need for one before: there were no vehicles on the streets."

Foot traffic and cattle dominated the streets, where
sprawling, faded colonial-style homes evoke an era when this was
the hub of the copper industry and one of the country's richest
cities.

Now, brightly uniformed women direct traffic at a roundabout
while hundreds of former illegal miners have formal jobs at
mines or on social projects.

International mining companies are scrambling to get a
foothold now political stability is returning after a 1998-2003
civil war that left most of the country in ruins.

Major mining groups BHP Billiton and Anglo American have
returned to mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo, which
last year held its first free elections in 40 years.



INFORMAL MINERS

One mark of renewal is a farm 12 km (7.5 miles) outside
Kolwezi where former illegal miners are cultivating crops
instead of pilfering ore at dangerous abandoned mines.

"Life as a digger was difficult," said 33-year-old Tshegeka
Nwegi, who supported his wife and four children for seven years
by illegally mining at a massive open pit abandoned by state
mining firm Gecamines.

He could earn around 20,000 francs ($35) a month, but the
income was unstable and earlier this year authorities expelled
the miners so the flooded mine could be rehabilitated.

Now Nwegi is working at the 30-hectare Mukweji farm that
Katanga Mining established as a social development project.

"My life is totally different now. Now I know I will have
enough money each month to feed my family and pay school fees,"
said Nwegi, who gets a salary of $100 a month.

Around 1,000 illegal miners are estimated to be still
working on Katanga's 157 sq km concession and about 25,000
remain in the Kolwezi area.

The government is keen to halt illicit mining since it gets
no tax revenue from shadowy middlemen who smuggle the metals
outside the country.

But mining firms and local officials have been grappling
with what to do with thousands of informal miners who entrenched
themselves at abandoned mines to eke out a living. Some firms
faced rioting when they tried to expel illicit miners, angry
they were losing their only means of scraping a living.

"You cannot simply say, 'Get off the concession and you will
have no pay'. They need alternatives," said Louis Kasuyi, vice
president of government relations for Katanga's local unit.

Katanga has hired several hundred former small-scale miners
to join its workforce of around 2,000 at the Kamoto mining
operations it is spending $425 million to rehabilitate.

Worldwide an estimated 13 million people, including one
million children, work as small-scale miners in 55 countries,
the International Labour Organisation has said.



INFRASTRUCTURE

As the government grapples to revive services after the
elections and years of civil war, mining companies have been key
in helping to rebuild infrastructure in the region.

In some cases, the firms are building roads out of necessity
to gain access to mine sites and export routes, but they are
also aware of global pressure for mining companies to help
improve local communities. The Congolese government is
undertaking a sweeping review of mining licences, and one issue
is how much firms are boosting development.

In another area of Congo's copperbelt, Canada's Anvil Mining
has agreed to spend 10 percent of profits from its Dikulushi
mine on the community.

The spending has transformed the area 400 km (250 miles)
north of the regional capital Lubumbasi, which now has new
roads, water boreholes, a school and a medical clinic.

The company is building a 192-km (119-mile) road south of
the mine which will cut travel time from eight days to six
hours, mine manager David Newton said. The mine has been using
an alternate route through Zambia to export its output.

The injection of economic activity has sparked a burst of
small-scale activity, including local people improving homes.

"The amount of building going on here is enormous... People
have confidence now after the election -- they know they will
not get looted or raped now," Newton said.
((Reporting by Eric Onstad, Editing by Janet Lawrence, Reuters
Messaging: [email protected]; E-mail:
[email protected]; +27 11 775 3157))
($1=560.0 Congolese Franc)

Keywords: CONGO REVIVAL/