“Mining Industry in Democratic Republic of Congo” added to ReportBuyer.com

Feb. 13, 2012 - PRLog -- The Democratic Republic of Congo is potentially one of the richest mining countries in Africa, based on its vast resources of copper, cobalt and diamonds. However, as with many African countries, the DRC is plagued by civil war, an uncertain political situation, corruption and smuggling. This has resulted in a shortage of development capital that has stifled the development of the country's industries. The mining industry in DR Congo is anticipated to grow by an annual average of 13.7% till 2015. Most mining activities are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the country, where the famous copper belt extends in to the DRC from Zambia near Lubumbashi. With growing interest in Africa's largely untapped iron ore resources, Congo's considerable deposits of the mineral have fallen under the gaze of international mining firms. One of the largest projects in development on the region is Sundance Resources' Mbalam project, which spans the border between Cameroon and the DRC.
Much of the resource extraction is done in small operations, known as "Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining" (ASM), which are unregulated in the DRC. Recently, more money is being invested into the extraction and refining of some of the ores found in the DRC, primarily copper and cobalt, which may help regulate the extraction and reduce environmental impacts. However, many ASM operations still exist for minerals such as that can be mined with little capital investment. ASM operations employ a significant number of DRC's population, with estimates of up to one fifth of the country or 12.5 million people. Because Artisanal mining operations require little capital, they are unregulated and occur primarily within protected areas, around endangered or threatened species.
Anvil Mining, Banro Corporation and Tiger Resources Limited are some of the biggest players in the market. Development of the mining sector in much of the continent has traditionally been impeded by a lack of infrastructure and low levels of investment. That said, in recent years there has been a plethora of exploration projects throughout the continent, encouraged by elevated metal prices. It is not just the quantity of resources that has attracted investment, but also the quality. High grade copper deposits have been discovered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, at a time of falling copper grades in some of the largest copper mines in Peru and Indonesia. Accompanying these exploration projects has been a significant increase in infrastructure spending, largely by mining firms. This has helped address some of the impediments to investment.
Congo's vast mineral resources continue to attract international interest, with a number of international firms reportedly vying for access to the country's deposits. In terms of growth potential, the industry is one of the most attractive in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with the sector forecast to expand by almost 70% in value terms between 2011 and 2015.
In this industry scenario, Taiyou Research analyzes the Mining Industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report covers the following:

An industry definition.
A brief analysis of the African mining industry. We look at the mining industries in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
An analysis of the mining industry in DRC.
Analysis of the regulatory framework governing the mining industry in DR Congo. We also look at the tax reforms that are likely to be undertaken by the government in the near future.
An analysis of the various commodity markets in DR Congo. Markets analyzed include the market for cobalt, copper, gold, and iron ore. For each commodity, we analyze production statistics, new projects, existing projects, major producers, and the industry profile.
Competition in the industry is analyzed through competitive landscape.
Major players are analyzed through a company overview, analysis of the major business segments, and a SWOT analysis.

An industry forecast completes this comprehensive coverage of the DR Congo Mining Industry from Taiyou Research.

Mining Industry in Democratic Republic of Congo: , is available at:
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