Primera Gold boosts exports of Gold from Artisanal Mining in DRC
It was the Economic Situation Committee (CCE) that made this observation during its weekly meeting on Wednesday March 22 around the Prime Minister, Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge.
According to the Minister of State in charge of the Budget, Aimé Boji Sangara, the Economic Committee noted with satisfaction that since the entry into activity of Primera Gold in January 2023, there has been an improvement in the export of gold from the artisanal sector.
Primera Gold achieved 77% export of artisanal gold. “So the export of gold from the artisanal sector in the DRC is increasing,” said Aimé Boji Sangara who was reporting on the CCE meeting.
Recall that Primera Gold, dated February 21 had already exported a total of 201 kg of gold in just 45 days of activity. However, for the whole of 2022, the DRC was only able to trace 34 kg of exported gold from the artisanal sector against 23 kg for the year 2021.
Note that Primera Gold is a joint venture under Congolese law resulting from the partnership between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Arab Emirates.
The agreement that gave birth to Primera Gold has the advantage of guaranteeing good working and living conditions to artisanal diggers living in eastern Congo, more specifically those from South Kivu, united in a cooperative. They will then be able to have direct access to the partner, without intermediary, thus becoming part of the process.
More concretely, Primera Gold will guarantee a decent salary to the diggers, and will provide them with a regular income, bankarisation, a range of insurance as well as access to health care and education for their families. This, according to the experts, is part of the requirements imposed by the rules of fair trade based on the “win-win” principle (Win-Win).
