The 15th edition of DRC’s annual Mining Industry Week will start this Wednesday, June 19, 2019 in the Lubumbashi mining center. The Opening Ceremony scheduled for 14:30 at the Pullman Grand Karavia Hotel will be attended by senior government officials and mining operators.

Indeed, more than 3,500 international mining experts and local stakeholders from more than 50 countries are expected at this iconic conference and exhibition. Five country pavilions from France, Germany, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe will be part of the exhibition.

The South African Ministry of Industry is the organizer of the South African Pavilion, which will bring together more than 35 South African companies to showcase their specialized mining technologies and services to what is seen as an increasingly important market in South Africa. ‘industry.

Huge opportunities

The DRC has been a very important market for South African manufacturers, particularly in the mining industry. According to Eric Bruggeman, CEO of the South African Council for Equipment Equipment and part of South Africa’s DRC Mining Week, it is the world’s fourth largest producer of copper and the largest cobalt manufacturer in the world. , with an average of 66,000 metric tons per year.

« This means that opportunities in the mining and related sectors are enormous. The GDP of the DRC is $ 41.6 billion. The GDP growth for 2019 is 4.1%, which is fantastic. The main sectors and their contribution to GDP are agriculture with 44%, industry 22% and services 33.1%. The mining sector South Africa is the largest importer in the DRC with 21.4%, followed by China with 15%, Belgium 7% and Zambia 7% », he said.

Momentum

According to Louis Watum, director of operations for Ivanhoe Mines in the DRC, this is a moment of historic opportunity to invest in the mining sector.

« We, and other mining companies, have set up a forum to engage collectively, as good citizens, exchanges with different government departments both on the mining code and on ways to achieve short-term goals. and longer-term, longer-term development of a strong partnership between international mining companies and the DRC government. Because we believe that this period is a historic opportunity for the responsible development of the mining sector in this country », he said.

DRC Mining Week is organized by Spintelligent, one of Cape Town’s leading organizers of exhibitions and conferences. Other well-known Spintelligent events include African Utility Week and POWERGEN Africa, Future Energy East Africa, Future Energy Nigeria, Mining in Central and Eastern Africa.

Nadine FULA