Cobalt General Enterprise operational with a weekly financial purchasing capacity of USD 7.5 million | DRC
For this circumstance, the ceremony brought together, in addition to the Minister of Mines, his portfolio colleague, Clément Kuete, the governors of Upper Katanga, Jacques Kyabula Katwe, and Lualaba, Richard Muyej Mangeze, the chairman of the board of directors of Gécamines, Albert Yuma, the director general of the EGC, Jean Michel Sama Lukonde, the heads of the EGC and the bosses of the cooperatives that supervise these cooperatives.
In turn, according to the same source, the two members of the central government, the two provincial governors, the leaders of Gécamines and those of the EGC, wanted to reassure their cooperative partners that the products will be bought back at a higher price than at present.
According to them, the EGC is able to buy cobalt produced by diggers up to 7.5 million USD per week. Moreover, this new venture will help cooperatives discover some sites in favor of artisanal diggers.
Similarly, officials, ministers and governors, were keen to remind the mining officials present at the event that they respect the law on subcontracting, which aims at the emergence of a Congolese middle class.
The activities of the new General Cobalt Company were launched on 17 December by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gécamines, Albert Yuma. This subsidiary of Gécamines owns 95% of its shares and 5% of the Ministry of Portfolio. Its objective is to supervise artisanal operators in mining cooperatives.
