New Web Hosting Pioneer Emerges, Offering Affordable Hosting Solutions Coupled with…In Walikale, a territory located in the eastern DRC, Indigenous Twa people accuse the Canadian and South African-owned mining company Alphamin Bisie Mining SA of obtaining mining rights without consulting all the communities affected by the company’s activities.
LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of the Congo — Land grabbing, lack of consultation, communities wiped off maps, and impunity. These are the serious accusations made against the mining company Alphamin Bisie Mining SA by the Indigenous communities of Banamwesi and Motondo, which oversee community forest concessions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo .
This area, covered with lush forests and savannahs ideal for Indigenous communities’ agropastoral activities, has all the makings of an Earthly paradise. Image by MONUSCO/Kevin Jordan via Flickr . It is here that mining company Alphamin Bisie, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Alphamin Resources and a South African government institution, the Industrial Development Corporation, decided to establish its mine and exploration activities.In the lush forests of Walikale, Alphamin Bisie holds several mining permits, including two exploration permits to look for minerals , which are over 10 years old, and one mining permit to extract mineral deposits .
Hubert Tshiswaka, the director of the Human Rights Research Institute , said that according to the 2018 Mining Code, all companies are required to consult neighboring populations who would be affected by mining activities, even during the exploration phase. Here, “exploration” designates not only mineralogical exploration but also research on relevant environmental impacts that would need to be outlined in the scope statement, an agreement between the company and the affected communities.
In an email to Mongabay, John Robertson, the managing director of Alphamin Bisie, said that “a mitigation and rehabilitation plan dating back to 2012 did not identify the Banamwesi or Matondo as potential landowners.”Community members from Banamwesi and Motondo discussing their issues with Alphamin Bisie mining company. Image courtesy of a local source.
According to the civil rights representative, it doesn’t matter whether Alphamin really abandoned the site or not while they held a license. What matters, they said, is who gets the land. However, in Alphamin Bisie’s scope statement, which was signed by representatives from other local communities in 2021, Banamwesi and Motondo are not included. These two communities have complained about how close they are to the company and stated the need for consultation for almost a decade, but nothing has changed.
Map in the scope statement of the mine’s ‘zone of influence,’ the area in which communities may be affected by its mining. Motondo and Banamwesi are located just to the left of the permit, but are not included. Screenshot of scope statement. No source, whether the local authorities or Alphamin Bisie, has provided Mongabay with a written authorization attesting to the community’s decision, nor have they named an individual representing the two communities.
Since the mining company does not recognize the communities of Banamwesi and Motondo as affected by its mining, it does not owe them anything in terms of the development projects that it offers in other surrounding areas in accordance with the Congolese Mining Code. This is one of the greatest issues community members, who desire some sort of compensation, bring up.
But this is not the only obstacle in trying to hear from the other side. The government won’t respond either. Mongabay had the same experience: it was difficult to reach regional authorities. Such was the case with the official from Walikale, who offered to call his superiors in Goma. Upon doing so, the military governor, Constant Ndima, did not answer.
A mining company’s establishment for regulated mineral mining, as exists in several Congolese mining regions, can sometimes spark hope among communities to be able to access to certain goods when they are recognized as affected by the mining activities: Local residents often get access to drinking water, some even to paid jobs, while miners build schools, hospitals, and in some places, roads.