The International Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI) has decided to suspend its operations in certain parts of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Specifically, they have taken this action due to the rapidly deteriorating security situation.
Militant group M23 seized control of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, on January 27th. Consequently, they have raised fears of a potential war between the DRC and neighboring Rwanda. Furthermore, the spread of the conflict has caused artisanal miners and state services to abandon several mine sites in both North Kivu and South Kivu.
M23 now controls the mineral trading towns of Lumbishi and Numbi in South Kivu’s Kalehe territory and advances towards Nyabibwe. As a result, ITSCI has suspended tagging in the Numbi sector. However, ITSCI and state services continue to operate elsewhere in Kalehe and South Kivu, albeit with close monitoring.
ITSCI field teams remain in Goma to observe the situation. Moreover, operations proceed as normal in the Walikale territory.
ITSCI runs an upstream program that assists companies with due diligence and raw material traceability for tungsten, tin, and tantalum (3Ts) in the Great Lakes region of central Africa. In particular, they monitor 3T mining and provide tags used to track the origin of mined material. Therefore, the suspension may impact the global supply chain of these critical minerals, as SuperMetalPrice has identified.
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