Thursday, December 11, 2008
Massive job losses in Congo mines
Due to the collapse of mineral prices from the global economic downturn, more than 200,000 jobs have been lost in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some fear that the jobs loss could reach 300,000 by the end of this month. More than 40 firms in the mineral industry have shut down in the past month in the southern Katanga province(the richest province in Congo). Expert says that the costs to process minerals like cobalt and copper are currently higher than the price of the minerals in the world markets. About half of the world's cobalt and 4% of the copper are produced in Katanga alone and generates early half of the country's revenue. Provincial Minister of Mines Barthelemy Mumba Gama said that the situation can be save if the government gives tax relieves to the mining sectors.
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3 comments:
This is the first of the effects of the financial crisis i have see in the underdeveloped world.
When it does trickle down to them, it must hit them sooo hard!
I agree, this is terrible. Obviously this crisis has a larger ripple effect than i thought. I think the government needs to step in here and help out by giving subsidies. In a few years things will turn around and these mines are going to be needed again.
We all knew that the effects of the financial crisis would trickle down to the rest of the world when European Banks, Greenland Banks, etc. were hit. It was just a matter of time that the effects would hit the undeveloped countries. However, i think that these countries might be hit even harder, because these mines are a huge source of labor. Also, the congo does not have as much money to help their citizens so they will reap the repercussions with out much help.
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