Congo plans to carry out public health information activities to mitigate the impact of the epidemic on the cobalt and copper industries in the country

Published: Apr 20, 2020 10:53

SMM4, March 20-Cobalt exports of Congolese gold fell by 15 per cent in the first quarter, while copper shipments increased by 13 per cent. In response, DRC plans to launch an extensive public health information campaign for hundreds of thousands of miners (public-health information campaign), aims to mitigate the impact of the outbreak on the country's cobalt and copper industries, the proposal is contained in a seven-page report drafted by the mining sector.

Although most of the Congolese gold is produced in large mechanized mines, about 200000 people still rely on artisanal mining for a living. To stop the epidemic from spreading among artisanal miners, the local government has sent a professional team to train the artisanal miners on how to socially isolate and stop the spread of the epidemic.

Willy Kitobo Samsoni, the country's mining minister, said the implementation of the measures, combined with appropriate surveillance, would reduce the impact of the epidemic on the mining industry and further mitigate the negative impact on the country's economy.

The weakening demand for copper and cobalt could delay the commissioning of some new projects, the report said.

So far, most of the mining companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are still operating normally, and there have been no new confirmed cases of the epidemic in the cobalt belt in the southeast.

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