Evident but elusive

This chapter focuses on the gold sector in South Kivu, ¹ in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Until very recently the entire gold production in this province was artisanal and 98 per cent of the trade in gold was not officially registered. Yet the Congolese Mining Code, in place since 2002, recognizes and regulates artisanal mining. It stipulates that the Minister of Mines may demarcate ‘artisanal exploitation zones’ (AEZ) in areas where ‘the technological and economic factors are not suited for the site to be industrially exploited’. ² Sites already covered by industrial mining titles cannot be transformed into AEZ. In turn, companies cannot acquire research permits inside the AEZ boundaries, unless they are artisanal miners’ cooperatives. These cooperatives should ideally evolve into semi-industrial operations. Individual miners who want to work in an AEZ have to buy an official permit, which has to be renewed every year. Registered miners should sell their production to registered traders in centralized trading points where agents from the different public mining services are present, issue certificates and levy taxes. ³ Miners also need to comply with regulations on security, hygiene, water use and environmental protection. ⁴ For example, negative impact on the environment should be minimized, the use of explosives and mercury is strictly forbidden, deforestation is prohibited, and shafts should not go deeper than 30 metres underground, while they should have an inclined degree of not more than 15 per cent. ⁵ But the law also provides for the possibility of closing down the AEZ if ‘the factors justifying its creation cease to exist’, or if a ‘new deposit necessitating large-scale exploitation has been discovered’. ⁶ In this case, artisanal miners have to leave the area within 60 days.