Kinshasa, June 12th, 2025 (CPA) – The transformation of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining resources at local level was deemed necessary by the Minister in charge of Mines to build a robust industrial fabric and create added value, at the opening on Wednesday of the 20th edition of DRC Mining Week in Lubumbashi, in the south-east, according to a press release received by the CPA on Thursday. ‘Mines Minister Kizito Pakabomba Kapinga Mulume launched the 20th DRC Mining Week in Lubumbashi, Haut-Katanga province, on Wednesday. He stressed the need to transform natural resources locally, in order to build a robust industrial fabric and create added value for the benefit of the Congolese people’, reads a press release from the Ministry of Mines. He retraced the twenty years of development of the mining sector in the DRC, stressing that the DRC must now transform, create jobs and build a robust industrial fabric for the benefit of the Congolese people. This major event,’ he said, ’is an essential platform for exchanging ideas, forging partnerships and exploring the opportunities offered by the Congolese mining sector, which is in the throes of transformation. Mr Kizito Pakabomba praised the central role played by DRC Mining Week in raising the profile of the Congolese extractive sector, pointing out that this sector, long marked by instability, has now become a lever for national growth, thanks to bold reforms, strengthened public-private partnerships and the global rise in demand for strategic minerals. ‘From infrastructure modernization to energy expansion and integration into regional and global value chains, the mining sector has made significant progress, but many challenges remain’, he added.
Winning back industrial sovereignty
The Minister in charge of Mines also emphasized that regaining the DRC’s industrial sovereignty is a major lever for promoting the traceability of strategic minerals, local processing and the creation of added value, with a view to the DRC’s economic and social development, given the global challenges linked to the exploitation of strategic minerals, the energy transition and the industrial sovereignty of countries. Mr Kizito Pakabomba noted that his national strategy is based on five pillars: equitable partnerships; the development of new sectors such as lithium and rare earths; the expansion of mining areas; the local processing of minerals and their linkage with other economic sectors. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment, under the impetus of President Félix Tshisekedi and Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka, to more ethical and transparent governance that looks to future generations, while welcoming the progress made, in particular the adoption of the revised Mining Code in 2018. ‘I appeal for collective responsibility: the mining sector must become an engine of sovereignty, economic justice and national transformation’, he concluded.
The 20th edition of DRC Mining Week was attended by numerous delegations from the DRC. The theme of this international forum for dialogue, innovation and investment promotion, held in Lubumbashi from June 11th to 13th, 2025, is ‘20 years of shaping the DRC’s mining sector: investing in infrastructure and energy security’.ACP/