Shinkolobwe

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Shinkolobwe mine

Shinkolobwe is the name of a town and a mine in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), located near the larger town of Likasi and about 120 miles northwest of Lubumbashi. The former mine was located in the centre of a 400 kilometre long belt of uranified minerals, stretching from south of Lubumbashi to Kalongwe, west of Kolwezi. Around 15,000 people live in the town. The United States used Shinkolobwe's uranium resources to make the Hiroshima bomb. Edgar Sengier, then director of Union Minière du Haut Katanga, had sold 1,200 tonnes of uranium ore to the Americans since 1939.

The mine was officially closed on January 28, 2004 by presidential decree. However eight people died and a further thirteen people were injured in July 2004 when part of the old mine collapsed. Although industrial production has ceased with cement lids sealing off the mine shafts, there is evidence that some artisan mining still goes on here. A United Nations inter-agency mission, led by the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and organised through their Joint Environment Unit, visited the mine. The UNEP/OCHA concluded:

Shinkolobwe is representative of similar situations in Africa and elsewhere in the developing world. A strong link exists between rural poverty, environmental protection and this type of livelihood activity. Alternative income opportunities must be developed and integrated in parallel to artisanal exploitation if new livelihood options are to be found for these rural poor. A holistic, multidisciplinary approach within the context of poverty alleviation is essential to address this problem and avoid further human and environmental catastrophes.^[1]

[edit] "Uranium for Iran" allegation

On July 18, 2006 the DRC Sanctions Committee, (United Nations Security Council Committee Established Pursuant to Resolution 1533 (2004), to give it its full name) released a report dated June 15, 2006, which restated the well-known fact that artisanal mining for various minerals continues at the Shinkolobwe mine:

149. During an investigation into alleged smuggling of radioactive materials, the Group of Experts has learned that such incidents are far more frequent than assumed. According to Congolese experts on radioactive materials, organs of State security have, during the past six years, confiscated over 50 cases containing uranium or cesium in and around Kinshasa. The last significant incident occurred in March 2004 when two containers with over 100 kilograms of stable uranium-238 and uranium-235 were secured.

150. In response to a request for information by the Group of Experts the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania has provided limited data on four shipments that were seized over the past 10 years. Unfortunately the Government chose not to provide information about the quantities of the seized consignments nor the specific method of smuggling. At least in reference to the last shipment from October 2005, the Tanzanian Government left no doubt that the uranium was transported from Lubumbashi by road through Zambia to the United Republic of Tanzania. Attempts via Interpol to learn the precise origin within the Democratic Republic of the Congo have remained inconclusive.^[2].

On August 9, 2006 the Sunday Times published a report claiming that Iran was seeking to import "bomb-making uranium" from the Shinkolobwe mine. ^[3], quoting the UN report of July 18, 2006. This report gives "Tanzanian customs officials" as its sole source for their claim that the Uranium was destined for processing in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan via the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. This has drawn comparison with the claim that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy yellowcake uranium from Niger which formed part of the case made by George W. Bush for the invasion of Iraq^[4]^[5].