Chinese men are charged with operating an illicit gold mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo announced Friday that 17 Chinese men had been arrested on suspicion of operating an illicit gold mine, as the government continued to crack down on unlicensed mineral production.

The guys were brought to the press conference in Bukavu, the provincial capital of South Kivu, which is riven by conflict, to announce their incarceration. Unrestrained, they sat in chairs and avoided talking to reporters.

Bernard Muhindo, the province’s finance minister and acting minister of mines, said the men were taken into custody during an unexpected government delegation’s visit to the mining site in the village of Karhembo on Thursday.

“We requested that they show us the documentation belonging to the company. Not a single document was present. “No status, no certificate, no national identification,” Muhindo declared.

He claimed that investigators arrested 17 individuals who seemed to be in command, along with several from Congo and neighboring Burundi, out of the about 60 Chinese nationals present at the scene.

When Reuters reached out to the Chinese embassy in Kinshasa for comment, they did not immediately reply. The embassy of Burundi stated that it was still awaiting information from its envoy in Bukavu.

According to the central African nation, it has been difficult to prevent unregistered businesses and, occasionally, armed organizations from taking advantage of its abundant minerals, which include gold, cobalt, and copper.

In the area that borders Rwanda, conflict has been exacerbated by competition over mining operations.

The governor of the province, Jean-Jacques Purusi Sadiki, ordered businesses and operators to leave and suspended mining activities in July in an attempt to “restore order to mining operations.”

Later, they were resumed, but officials stated they would keep looking into the industry.