Southern DRC: Calm returns to Kolwezi after clashes between artisanal miners and security forces
Kolwezi, one of the world's main copper and cobalt production centres, was calm on Wednesday 21 October after two consecutive days of clashes between artisanal miners and security forces. The miners were demanding the reopening of mineral buying counters and small processing plants, often run by Chinese nationals, which had suspended activity following a legality inspection. According to civil society, the provisional toll was one artisanal miner killed, four injured and 32 arrests, while about a hundred Chinese employees of small mining companies and buying counters in irregular stay in Kolwezi were repatriated.
Why it matters: Disruption at a hub for artisanal copper and cobalt trading bears directly on critical minerals supply chains that China and the United States both compete over.