Congo copper and gold production jumps in Q1

Kinshasa - Copper and gold production in the Democratic Republic of Congo rose sharply in the first quarter of 2015, despite continuing uncertainty about a proposed revision of the mining code.

Congo, which vies with Zambia to be Africa's leading copper producer, mined 279 573 tons of the metal during the quarter, according to the central bank's March statistical bulletin. That was up 13.7% from 245 868 tons over the same period in 2014.

Gold production jumped to 8 457kg in the first quarter of 2015 from 4 972kg over the same period last year... a 70% rise.

Large new gold mines opened by companies like Randgold Resources, AngloGold Ashanti and Banro Corporation in the last four years have boosted Congo's industrial gold output from near zero in 2011 to over 20 tons last year. The country hopes to become one of the continent's leading gold producers.

The central African country also boasts vast reserves of cobalt, diamonds, tin and tantalum and the mining sector accounts for about 10% of its GDP.