Sicomines DRC committed to protecting the environment (press release)
Kinshasa February 27, 2022.- La Sino Congolaise des Mines (SICOMINES SA), has since its creation registered approximately 69,079,880 USD for the design of the environmental protection project as well as 9,013,950 USD invested for environmental protection measures in the DRC, with a view to protecting the environment and the populations of the villages surrounding its facilities against diseases, pollution of the rivers and the earth.
This mining company always refers to the prescriptions of law 038/2003 of March 26, 2003 on mining regulations as amended and supplemented by decree of 18/024 of June 08, 2018 relating to socio-environmental management starting with the consultation of the local population based on article 477 paragraphs 1 litera b, with a view to contributing to the development of the environment and the local community.
Sicomines remains strict in respecting the laws and regulations of the DRC, and adheres to the principles of mining which must go hand in hand with the protection of the environment.
During the realization of its mining project and the installation of its factories, SICOMINES has always considered the protection of the environment as an important task for which various measures have been taken to strengthen the protection of the environment with the key good results approved by the DRC’s environmental protection services.
It should be noted that before the execution of the project and the construction of the factories, the environmental impact assessment report and the environmental management plan of the project have been drawn up and approved by the management of the protection of the mining environment under the orders of the DRC Ministry of Mines.
SICOMINES is committed to protecting the ecological environment and constructing ecological mines while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which the well-being of the people depends by realizing green development. .
SCM has made a remarkable contribution to environmental protection during its mining process, and has obtained with honor the certificate of environmental protection awarded by the Ministry of Environment and Provincial Tourism of Lualaba.
1 million USD per year allocated for the protection of the environment inside its facilities
In order to ensure the effective execution of environmental protection works, SICOMINES allocates at least USD 1 million per year for the protection of the environment inside the facilities.
It is characterized in four aspects, including spraying and watering dusty places, watering quarries, storing IUDs, and mining city road to mitigate the influence of dust on the environment.
Others include the installation of the spraying system in dusty places, the improvement of ventilation facilities in places containing toxic and harmful gases, the weekly sampling and texting of water as well as the detection of dust toxic and harmful gases and noise.
The third aspect is the construction of a waste transit station and a centralized processing center for industrial and household computers after classification to reduce the influence on the environment, as well as, the planting of grass in production and residential areas with the objective of reforestation.
In recent years, several large-scale plantations have been carried out, in particular more or less 50,000 m2 of lawn, 20,000 flowers of around fifty species, 1,000 trees, 10,000 thorn trees, 2,000 banana trees and 1,000 fruit trees of around 10 of species all this creates a mine of gardens.
Management of SICOMINES mining waste basins
SICOMINES has two large scale tailings ponds built to international standards. They are located (two discharge basins) more than 2 km from the Kapanga and Yenge villages.
The SCM applies a new technology to manage its mining waste basins in order to avoid any external contact and negatively impact the environment and the surrounding population.
Wastewater is recycled, treated and reused in the factory in a hermetically closed circuit.
The SCM carries out the environmental control (monitoring) according to the prescribed law in the matter, that is to say, by taking samples of water, gas, air and dust which are subjected to analyzes in the laboratory whose results are proven by the competent authorities.
Several government services regularly carry out checks on the methods and timetables established by articles 501, 502, 503, 504, 505 and 506 of the Mining Regulations
The SCM affirms that it has never returned polluted water outside its concession. The Yenge and Kapanga villages neighboring the SICOMINES discharge basins are in no way negatively impacted, she specifies.
The Sino-Congolese Mines emphasizes that it remains concerned about its environment, especially since it strictly respects the prescriptions of the Code and the Mining Regulations with regard to environmental protection by ensuring a peaceful and ecological environment. for the benefit of the local population.
