Cape Town:  Ivanplats CEO Robert Friedland said on Wednesday his company was developing Africa’s largest copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). “This is the project that we think will set the mark for the rebirth of the mining industry in the Congo,â€� he told delegates at the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town.

Lusaka: Zambia and Congo DR are in the next couple of weeks expected to sign an economic agreement to facilitate smooth trade between the two neighbouring countries, Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Robert Sichinga has said. Mr Sichinga said there was an urgent need to explore the yawning market in Congo DR for locally produced goods.

Lusaka: The Mpulungu Harbour Authority has with immediate effect reduced port charges on all consignments being handled at the port destined for the Great Lakes Region (GLR) to make them more competitive and improve on the flow of traffic. Cargo weighing above 50 kg like steel, cement and sugar for example, has been reduced  from  US$18 to US$16 per tonne with effect from October 1 last year. 

Vancouver: First Quantum Minerals Ltd. is closing a painful chapter of its history in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by selling its mines and settling all legal claims for $1.25-billion (U.S.), years after its operations were nationalized by the government. Vancouver-based First Quantum will sell the controversial Kolwezi copper-cobalt project, as well as its Frontier and Lonshi mines, to Kazakh miner Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC, also known as ENRC, the same company it has been battling in international courts over its properties in DRC, one of the world’s most attractive copper regions.

Nairobi: The government seeks to profile fresh market opportunities in newly independent South Sudan Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo to expand the country’s export trade.  The Export Promotion Council (EPC), which is charged with boosting the country’s external trade, said it required consultants to undertake market research studies on the two countries with the aim of establishing business opportunities and potential distribution channels for Kenyan products.

London: The UK must be prepared to suspend or even cancel aid programmes to conflict-affected states if they flout agreements or refuse to engage in efforts to increase transparency and accountability, a group of MPs said in a report on Thursday. Members of the international development committee said the British government is right to boost aid to "fragile states", such as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), but should use its influence to press for improvement in governance.

New York:  The United Nations has named three Kenyans it says are involved in smuggling gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the UN report, the network based in Nairobi carries out deals involving large quantities of gold. Counterfeit gold is also brokered in Nairobi, the UN added in the report by a team of experts that monitors arms and mineral-trade sanctions against rebel groups in the DRC.

Kinshasa:  A US  crackdown on so-called "conflict minerals" in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has backfired by pushing trade deeper into the hands of criminals, including at least one former rebel leader, a U.N. report said on Friday. The finding underscores the difficulty faced by both the United States and Congo governments in choking off funding to eastern Congo's roving armed bands, believed responsible for thousands of rapes and killings of villagers.

Lusaka: The Government has directed two railway companies in the country to bolster their operations and ensure efficient services between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Railway Systems of Zambia (RSZ) and the Tanzania-Zambia Railways Authority (TAZARA) should be more efficient and reliable in transporting various goods.

Trade in blood minerals that has been funding civil wars in the Great Lakes region could soon end. A laboratory to analyse mineral traces and dealers will soon open in Tanzania. The hi-tech laboratory uses geochemical fingerprinting to isolate traders of these minerals and their sources. The International Conference on the Great Lakes (ICGLR) region based in Bujumbura, is leading this initiative, and is set to receive $7 million from Germany to set up the first phase of the facility. The fingerprinting technique will increase the sale of minerals from genuine traders, and improve peace and security in the region.