The TRI Tin Supply Chain Initiative (iTSCi), a joint industry mechanism aimed at addressing conflict-minerals concerns in the Great Lakes region, last month launched a programme that will promote the traceability of, and facilitate due diligence on, tin, tantalum and tungsten mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu region.

From 2006 to 2009, the Bisie mine, in Walikale territory, west of Goma, in the DRC, reportedly produced about three-quarters of the cassiterite in the Central Africa region, according to Pact, the nongovernmental organisation that runs the iTSCi.

Pact notes that the mine was allegedly controlled by various military groups, including brigades in the Congolese army.

iTSCi governance committee member Kay Nimmo says that, in 2011, soldiers were reportedly physically present in the mine and collecting payments from mineworkers and traders at roadblocks along their transport routes.

“This situation was the main driver of the conflict-minerals campaigns of NGOs and their support for Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which requires US manufacturers to disclose whether their mineral purchases have benefited abusive illegal armed groups in the DRC and its neighbouring countries,” she says.
She notes that a lot has changed since 2011 and, following the official validation of areas worked by artisanal miners across Walikale, as green areas, by a team of stakeholders, those mines will now be integrated into the iTSCi to allow for conflict-free minerals to be exported to responsible buyers on the market.

It is not known how many artisanal mines and miners could begin working across Walikale because of some mines being declared green areas, and it will take time for these mines to be cleared after a long period of low activity under the de facto embargo. However, the start of the iTSCi demonstrates that this area can move on from its conflict-related reputation to a more stable future of new opportunities.

Nimmo notes that trade and economic development in the area are viewed as the route to further stability and an enabler of peace.

She explains that implementing due diligence through the iTSCi across the Central Africa region has been a difficult process.

“Reaching this turning point is a great achievement, not only for the iTSCi and its field implementing partner Pact but also for all the others who have been involved in supporting us over the years,” she states.

The iTSCi has been able to proceed with collective financial support from exporters in Goma who are eager to get back to business and enjoy the new era of conflict-free mineral trade.

The production of cassiterite from the DRC in 2014 was just below 7 000 t of concentrate, and estimated production in 2008 from Walikale was about one-third of the 7 000 t, when production from Walikale was at its peak, and it is hoped that significant additional tonnages can be achieved by North Kivu in due course.

“With these developments, the iTSCi has demonstrated the continued capacity of a credible joint industry programme to create new opportunities for local communities through resumption of the international trade of conflict-free DRC minerals,” Nimmo concludes.