Kinshasa, June 22nd, 2025 (CPA). – The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has decided to relaunch the mining company Anhui Congo Investment (Sacim) in the territory of Miabi, in the province of East Kasai, which is currently threatened with closure, according to the minutes of Friday’s Council of Ministers meeting consulted by CPA on Sunday.
‘The Minister in charge of Mines presented to the Council of Ministers an information note devoted to the assessment of the operational, managerial and social situation of Sacim, and the measures to be taken for its relaunch (…). The Council took note of this information note,’ the report states. According to this document, Sacim is in the midst of a deep crisis that threatens its survival, despite monthly production of around 250,000 carats of diamonds. This situation stems mainly from regulatory constraints illegally imposed before the current government came to power, which affected its ability to freely market its production, explained the Minister of Mines, and quoted in the minutes.
« The major problem hindering the emergence of this company was the restriction on the marketing of its diamonds. In fact, a ministerial decree of February 22nd, 2022 required SACIM to sell its diamonds exclusively to a limited number of Congolese buyers approved by the Centre of Expertise for Assessment and Certification (CEEC), » he explained, according to the report. ‘This restriction was deemed responsible for the decline in revenue, resulting in delays in salary payments. Arrears reached up to 13 months. This situation led to worker protests and threatened social stability in this part of the country,’ the source said. To resolve this crisis, the minister recommended a recovery approach consisting of restoring the freedom to trade diamonds.
‘To resolve this situation, a ministerial decree was issued on June 2nd, 2025 to restore the freedom to trade diamonds in accordance with the provisions of the Mining Code. The Council took note of this information note,’ the report states. This new decree comes as a relief to the staff of this company and to local stakeholders who have, on several occasions, called for the repeal of the previous decree by the Minister in charge of Mines, which had restricted the freedom to trade diamonds at this industrial unit. This crisis at Sacim was the subject of an information motion in the Senate last April by Senator Ngoyi Kasanji. The latter recommended the establishment of a commission of inquiry by the upper house of Parliament to monitor the bankruptcy situation at the Anhui/Congo Mining Investment Company (SACIM) in Kasaï Oriental, in the center of the Democratic Republic of Congo.