Gécamines

Gécamines

Type	State-owned enterprise
Industry	Metals and Mining
Founded	1966
Headquarters	Lubumbashi (Headquarters)
Area served	DRC
Key people	Albert Yuma Mulimbi (Chairman of the Board) Ahmed Kalej Nkand (President) (CEO) (Director) Jack Rosen' (Board)
Products	Gold Cobalt Commodities Copper Zinc Uranium Mining Finance
Employees	6,000 circa

La Générale des Carrières et des Mines, (GCM) often called simply Gécamines, is a Congolese metals and mineral trading company. A diversified metals and mining company based in Lubumbashi, it is a state-controlled corporation existing under Congolese law. Gecamines is engaged in the production and trading of metals and minerals, including copper, cobalt, tin, gold, zinc, among others.

One of the largest mining companies in Africa, it sits on the biggest deposit of cobalt in the world (50 percent). In order to boost its production and regain its lost lustre, the company has recently forged partnerships with companies such as Anglo-Swiss Glencore International and American giant Freeport-McMoran.

History

Gécamines is the successor to the Union Minière du Haut Katanga. On December 31, 1966, the Congolese government, under dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, took over the UMHK, an immensely profitable Belgian mining trust founded on 1906, and transformed it into a state-owned firm, Gécamines. From that point onwards the company's fortunes declined, as did those of the rest of the country (between 1965 and 1987, Congolese GDP per head fell by 2.4%).

The Mobutu regime has been accused of theft of the nation's financial and physical treasure. For example, one Gécamines official estimated theft to amount to 10% of production.(citation needed). During Mobutu's presidency, Gecamines' fortunes have declined, and they are now are seeking to enter partnerships with other firms to avoid bankruptcy (Citation needed.) Nonetheless, the company remained crucial to Congolese finance: In 1989, Gécamines provided 85% of DR Congo's export earnings (against 60% provided by the UMHK in 1960), and 42% of public revenues, making it by far the most important company in the country.

In the 1990s, Gécamines' financial situation took a blow, adversely affected by several issues, including the ageing of infrastructure and equipment, collapse of the mine of Kamoto, and ethnic riots in Shaba. These led to a slump in production, as can be seen in the copper production chart below.

Operations

Production of copper, by year.

• 1989: 440,848 tons of copper, 54,043 tons of zinc.
• 1990: 376,000 tons of copper.
• 1991: 240,000 tons of copper, 30,000 tons of zinc, 9,800 tons of cobalt.
• 1994: 32,412 tons of copper, 2,515 tons of zinc, 3,631 tons of cobalt.
• 2001: 27,507 tons of copper, 3,463 of cobalt.
• 2002: 21,186 tons of copper, 828 tons of zinc, 1,780 tons of cobalt.
• 2003: 16,172 tons of copper (8,000 tons of refined copper), 1,200 tons of refined cobalt.

Despite these unfortunate figures, it must be remembered that Gécamines is still in possession of proven, probable, and possible ore reserves of copper (56 Mt contained metal), cobalt (4 Mt), and germanium (3.4 Mt), and zinc (6.4 Mt). With assistance from the World Bank, aided by partnerships with other firms and by proper governance in DR Congo, Gécamines hopes to resume its former copper production. ^{[citation needed]}

Sites owned by Gécamines

Mines

• Kakanda/Kambove mines (copper and cobalt), jointly with the International Panorama Resources Corporation
• Kamfundwa mine (copper) jointly with the Harambee Mining Corporation and Sogemin
• Kipushi mine (copper, gold and zinc) jointly with Ivanplats^[1]
• Kolwezi mine (copper and cobalt)

Copper smelters

• Lubumbashi

Copper refineries

• Shituru

See also

• JFPI Corporation

References