Between 2020 and 2022, export statistics for the extractive sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fluctuated. Statistics extracted from the 2023 report of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ITIE-RDC) show an increase in copper and cobalt and a decrease in gold and diamonds.
Between 2020 and 2022, copper exports from the Democratic Republic of Congo rose by almost 50%. From 1.601 million tonnes in 2020, the DRC has risen to 1.797 million tonnes in 2021 and 2.394 tonnes in 2022. In practice, this increase is due to copper prices, which have risen by 51.3% to an average of 9,299.3 USD in 2021, leading to a sharp rise in the value of exports of this product. Exports of cobalt have risen from 86,590 tonnes in 2020 to 115,371 tonnes in 2022, with an estimated 93,010 tonnes in 2021.
Gold and diamonds fell in terms of export rates over the same period from 2020 to 2022. Gold exports rose from 30.553 tonnes in 2020 to 31.839 tonnes in 2021, before falling to 28.306 tonnes in 2022. Diamond production will fall by 1.289 million carats between 2021 and 2022. With exports estimated at 12.973 million carats in 2021, diamond exports will fall to 11.683 million carats in 2022 from 12.944 million carats in 2020.
Tiba Kassamse OUEDRAOGO
Mines Actu Burkina
