Union warns ENRC to cut more than 2,000 mining jobs in Congo
by Agency Staff,
2016-03-02 20:49:25.0
KINSHASA — Kazakh group Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation is cutting more than 2,000 jobs at two mining companies it controls in Democratic Republic of Congo, a union representative said on Wednesday.
The company, owned by Eurasian Resources Group, plans to shed 996 jobs at its Boss Mining unit and 1,300 at Congo Cobalt Corporation (CCC) in the country’s copper-rich southeast, said Dieudonne Shimbi, the provincial co-ordinator for Tumec, one of the unions negotiating on behalf of the workers.
CCC is wholly owned by ENRC, which has a 70% stake in Boss Mining. Congolese state miner Gecamines holds the remaining 30%.
ENRC did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr Shimbi said the company would begin lay-offs within a month if enough of Boss Mining’s more than 4,000 and CCC’s 1,700 workers do not leave voluntarily.
"Based on where the price of copper is today, the employer justified that it was practically operating at a loss," Mr Shimbi said.
The benchmark copper price fell 25% last year on declining demand from top industrial metals consumer China.
It has recovered slightly this year, closing on Wednesday at $4,792 a tonne, the highest level since November 16.
Congo, Africa’s largest copper producer, saw output dip modestly in 2015, according to the country’s chamber of mines, due to slumping prices and the 18-month suspension of production at Glencore’s Katanga Unit, announced in September.
Congo’s economy is heavily dependent on the extractive industries, which account for about 98% of the country’s export revenues.
Reuters
Workers drill in a gold mine in Kibali, Democratic Republic of Congo. Picture: BLOOMBERG/SIMON DAWSON
KINSHASA — Kazakh group Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation is cutting more than 2,000 jobs at two mining companies it controls in Democratic Republic of Congo, a union representative said on Wednesday.
The company, owned by Eurasian Resources Group, plans to shed 996 jobs at its Boss Mining unit and 1,300 at Congo Cobalt Corporation (CCC) in the country’s copper-rich southeast, said Dieudonne Shimbi, the provincial co-ordinator for Tumec, one of the unions negotiating on behalf of the workers.
CCC is wholly owned by ENRC, which has a 70% stake in Boss Mining. Congolese state miner Gecamines holds the remaining 30%.
ENRC did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr Shimbi said the company would begin lay-offs within a month if enough of Boss Mining’s more than 4,000 and CCC’s 1,700 workers do not leave voluntarily.
"Based on where the price of copper is today, the employer justified that it was practically operating at a loss," Mr Shimbi said.
The benchmark copper price fell 25% last year on declining demand from top industrial metals consumer China.
It has recovered slightly this year, closing on Wednesday at $4,792 a tonne, the highest level since November 16.
Congo, Africa’s largest copper producer, saw output dip modestly in 2015, according to the country’s chamber of mines, due to slumping prices and the 18-month suspension of production at Glencore’s Katanga Unit, announced in September.
Congo’s economy is heavily dependent on the extractive industries, which account for about 98% of the country’s export revenues.
Reuters
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