At least 36 miners have died after a part of a copper and cobalt mine collapsed in the Lualaba province in southeast Congo, the provincial governor has told news agency Reuters.
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Richard Muyej, the governor of Lualaba district, blames the accident on “clandestine artisanal diggers who have flooded (the mine) and engaged in an anarchic exploitation”, Reuters say.
The accident happened in the KOV open-pit mine at the Kamoto Copper Company concession, and it is owned by Glencore, a multinational mining giant, according to Reuters.
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Mines in southern Congo produce more than half of the world’s cobalt – a key component in batteries – and thousands of illegal miners often operate in and around the mines.
Source:Â bbc.com