Bisie

Bisie mine
Location
	Bisie mine
Province	North Kivu
Country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates	1°2′S 27°44′E / 1.033°S 27.733°E
Owner
Company	Alphamin Bisie Mining SA (ABM) Alpahmin Resources (84.14%); Industrial Development Corporation (10.86%); DRC government (5%);
Website	alphaminresources.com/mpama-north/

Bisie, divided into Mpama North and Mpama South deposits,^[1] is a tin deposit in the Walikale territory of the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The mine was formerly an illegal source of an estimated 15,000 tons of tin, or 4% of global production.^[2] In early 2018 artisanal mining activity has stopped, and Alphamin Resources Corp., an exploration company, based in Mauritius, is leading an exploration of the site.

History

Artisanal mining (2003–2011)

Bisie mine was established after a hunter discovered cassiterite there,^[when?] which led to a frenzy. Artisinal mining at Bisie began in 2003.^[3]

Following the Second Congo War, Mai Mai-allied militia in were to form the 85th brigade of the national army, receive training and then fragment when they deployed throughout the country. The militia refused to cooperate, however, and since then they controls the production and transport of tin, and the economics of Bisie, and nearby Manoire village, under the supervision of Colonel Samy Matumo. The mine's estimated tin production has been as high $100 million a year. The militia extorted "taxes" on everything from entry to the mine, to mud hut for shelter $50 a month. They also collect sales taxes, $20 a week, from small peddlers

Tin was mined by hand through open-pit mining, and bags of tin that weighed 110 pounds or more were then dropped off at a central location, from which porters carried them on foot by individuals for over 30 miles, which typically took two days. When it arrived it was driven to the village of Kilambo, where it was loaded into Soviet-style cargo planes, flown to Goma, and sold to international dealers, such as Malaysia Smelting Corporation.

The militia controlled the entire vicinity of Bisie and allowed only those who paid the taxes. Mining and Processing Congo (MPC), a consortium of British and South African investors, bought mining rights for Bisie in 2006, but the militia thwarted their attempts to reach the area. They in the past have shot and injured people associated with the consortium. After they were forced to evacuate, MPC applied for Force Majeure, which was granted on 26 March 2009.

By July 2008, the mine was retaken by the DRC's military, but conditions under the FARDC were poor, with child labor and outbreaks of disease in the area.^[4]

The mine was intimately linked to world markets. In October 2008 the prices of tin increased 37% with news of fighting in the region.^[5] According to some observers, the failure to inaugurate legal forms of production indicated corruption at the regional and federal levels of the DRC.

In March 2009, the 85th FARDC Brigade was replaced by the 1st Brigade of ex-CNDP (Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple) members; this was then renamed the 212th Brigade in September 2009.^[6] On 9 September 2010, President Kabila banned on all artisanal mining in Walikale territory. Two days later, he suspended all mining and mineral exports from North Kivu, South Kivu and Maniema Provinces.^[7]

This mining and export ban, together with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and pressure from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), caused buyers to buy less at lower prices. The Dodd-Frank legislation requires US-listed companies who obtain minerals from the DRC and adjoining countries, to implement due diligence measures. This legislation served as a catalyst for other international and regional initiatives to increase the accountability of corporations who source minerals from the eastern DRC and the wider region.^[6] The main buyers of cassiterite in the area, i.e. the Malaysian Smelting Corporation, various Chinese companies and Eurotrade International, boycotted Bisie ore, easy to identify due to its pink-red colour.^[8]

The mine was profiled in the 2010 documentary Blood in the Mobile.

Mineral production and trade slowed during Kabila's ban, but did not completely stop. Wimmer and Hilgert (2011)^[6] presented satellite images which show continued artisanal mining at Bisie. They estimated that the actual mining area expanded by 0.74 ha during the ban, which was lifted 10 March 2011.^[8]

By late May 2011, the DRC army completed its withdrawal from the Bisie tin mine.

Industrial mine (2011–present)

In August 2011, Alphamin Resources, a Canadian company, acquired a 70% interest in the Bisie Tin Project,^[9] and acquired the remaining 30% of the project in July 2012.^[10]

In 2012, the number of artisanal miners at the site had declined sharply, due in great part to the deep tunnels now needed to reach the ore. The Force Majeure was lifted at the Bisie Project in February 2012, and Alphamin Resources established a camp on the Bisie ridge and began exploratory drilling in July 2012.^[11]

Artisanal mining continuing on a smaller scale alongside Alphamin's exploration. However, after members of an artisanal cooperative destroyed Alphamin's camp on 16 July 2014, the cooperative's activities on the site were suspended.^[12] Alphamin rebuilt the camp and recommenced exploration campaign in September 2014.^[13]

References

^ "Major Mines & Projects". Bisie (Mpama North) Mine. 10 July 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
^ "Congo's Riches, Looted by Renegade Troops". New York Times. The Spoils. 15 November 2008.
^ Huggins, Chris (2022). "Is collaboration possible between the small-scale and large-scale mining sectors? Evidence from 'Conflict-Free Mining' in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)". The Extractive Industries and Society. Elsevier BV: 101163. doi:10.1016/j.exis.2022.101163. ISSN 2214-790X.
^ "Congo's tin slaves". the Guardian. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
^ ANALYSIS-Tin price spike shows Congo's growing origin role. Reuters. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LU661455.htm
^ ^a ^b ^c Wimmer S. Z. & Hilgert P. (2011), IPIS (International Peace Information Services) Bisie. A one-year snapshot of the DRC's principal cassiterite mine, http://ipisresearch.be/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/20111128__Bisie_FHilgert_SZingg.pdf
^ "DR Congo bans mining in eastern provinces". BBC News. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b MSA Group (2014), Bisie Tin Project NI-43-101 Technical Report, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ Alphamin Resources (2012), "Alphamin Closes Acquisition of a 70% interest in the Bisie Tin Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Concurement $5 Million convertible note Financing - Alphamin". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
^ "Alphamin Announces Acquisition of Final 30% of the Bisie Tin Project, Democratic Republic of the Congo". Marketwire. 24 July 2012. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
^ Alphamin Resources (2012), "Drilling Commences on the Bisie TIn Project, North Kivu Province, DRC - Alphamin". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
^ Pole Institute (2014), http://www.pole-institute.org/news/suspension-des-activit%C3%A9s-des-coop%C3%A9ratives-mini%C3%A8res-%C3%A0-bisie-au-nord-kivu Archived 1 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine
^ Alphamin Resources (2014), "Alphamin Recommences Drilling ... - Alphamin". Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.

Polgreen, Lydia (16 November 2008). "A rush for tin, a catastrophe for the Congo". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 23 November 2008.

External links

The Incredible Story of Conflict Mineral Mining in Images; Treehugger.com [1]
Conflict mineral exploitation at Bisie, D.R. Congo, photography by Mark Craemer, 2008 [2]
The Congo's tin soldiers, Wells J. (2011); Thestar.com [3]