Engineers and scientists from SRK Consulting’s Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa offices were part of the DRC Mining Week in Lubumbashi recently, sharing information on trends and opportunities in one of Africa’s most important mining hubs.
Maleba said the current construction of cobalt processing facilities at some mines was a good indicator for future opportunities, while exploration projects were also picking up.
He added that there was definite interest in the DRC, especially with increased global demand for cobalt – despite some uncertainty about the effect of the country’s new mining code. He noted that the mining community appeared full of hope that mining in the area could grow significantly in the coming years, with interest not only from SADC countries, but also from Europe, the US, China and Australasia.