Production of Nonferrous Metals in the Katanga Region of the Democratic Republic of Congo: 1906-2012

John Ngoy

doi:10.4172/2162-6359.1000181

Abstract

This paper investigates the production of nonferrous metals in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) from the colonial period to the independent Congo. It focuses specifically on the major enterprise known initially as Union Miniere du Haut Katanga (UMHK) in the period of Belgian rule and Gecamines during the independent era. It aims to estimate the economic value of the processed metals from a historical perspective. This study builds on sources that include internal documents, archives of companies, and in-depth interviews with managers. The findings reveal that during the colonial period, the copper industry alone generated a total income of US$ 5.5 billion that represented twice the Congolese nominal GDP of 1960. This revenue financed exclusively Belgian interests. The UMHK provided strategic metals to the Western Allies during the two World Wars making the company a big supplier of metals on the world market. After nationalization of the UMHK in 1967, the copper industry generated a total income of about US$ 52.6 billion under the Congolese ownership and management. Gecamines contributed an average of 11.6 percent to the Congolese GDP per year.

Highlights

This paper examines the history of industrial processing of nonferrous metals in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo from the colonial times to the present
The Union Miniere du Haut Katanga produced the major metals of copper, cobalt and zinc
The Union Miniere du Haut Katanga (UMHK) produced the uranium ores to make the first atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War

Summary

Introduction

This paper examines the history of industrial processing of nonferrous metals in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo from the colonial times to the present. This study focuses on three of the major metals processed in the Katanga region including copper, cobalt and zinc [5]. During the First World War, the UMHK invested into the mechanization of extractive and metallurgical processes in order to increase the output because copper became an important metal for war equipment.

Results

Conclusion