A 26 October statement on artisanal minerals, read alongside reporting from Kolwezi and Musompo.
On 26 October 2026, Topdirect.cd published a statement signed by Jean Thierry Monsenepwo about artisanal mining in Lualaba. He supported sales through the official trading centre, presenting formal oversight as protection for miners. He attributed selling difficulties to operators voluntarily suspending purchases. That explanation remains the statement author’s account.
His assertion that calm had returned needs context. Radio Okapi reported protests and disruption to schools and businesses in several parts of Kolwezi that same day. Its report also described difficulties selling mineral production. This reporting does not support treating the statement’s claim of normalisation as an agreed assessment of conditions across the city.
On 27 October, ACTUALITE.CD reported on Mines Minister Louis Watum’s restart of Musompo the previous day. It described resumed weighing, sampling and analysis, while noting unresolved technical problems. The centre is intended to support transparent transactions and mineral traceability. Restarting its operations does not mean that all the difficulties facing artisanal producers have been resolved.
The economic questions are practical: whether miners can sell their production, understand its value and use a functioning trading channel. The statement supports a public policy direction; the reporting provides material for assessing its implementation. Reading both helps distinguish a political position, an announced operational step and outcomes that still need to be observed.