More than 35% of the gold mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)\u00a0are at risk of being directly or indirectly affected by the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the country, the world\u2019s top cobalt miner and a significant copper and gold producer, a study shows.<\/p>\n
The number of people infected with the often fatal virus has now exceeded 1,000 cases, the World Health Organization confirmed<\/a>, making it the second-worst outbreak in history, with daily rates on the rise as response workers continue to face violence.<\/p>\n Together with the obvious risks for those working in the country\u2019s gold mines, companies are now facing delays in their exports, as part of Ebola prevention methods being implemented at border checkpoints, Indigo Ellis, Verisk Maplecroft\u2019s lead DRC Analyst warns.<\/p>\n The effect on gold producers depends on whether mines are industrial or artisanal, and on how close they are to known cases, the expert says. In Ellis\u2019 view, there are two major issues the gold mining industry has to urgently deal with.<\/p>\n One, is the risk to mine staff. \u201cLarger industrial mining companies will need to enact strict protocols to reduce the risk of transmission to their sites, which will likely slow down ore extraction and construction efforts,\u201d the analyst says.<\/p>\n The other is related to shipments disruptions. \u201cEbola prevention methods at border checkpoints will almost certainly slow gold exports as the Ugandan government and World Health Organization (WHO) introduce measures to limit the spread,\u201d Ellis says. \u201cA combination of lengthier processes, such as heat signature mapping, and less time-consuming methods, such as hand washing, will result in tailbacks at border crossings.\u201d<\/p>\n Verisk Maplecroft has detected a growing threat to industrial mines such as Barrick\u2019s Kibali and Vector Resources\u2019 Adidi-Kanga, which increases the likelihood of gold production being affected, especially after the recent confirmation of cases in Bunia, a city of close to 1 million people, closer to the Ugandan border than previous outbreaks.<\/p>\n High tech companies, including Apple and US consumer products manufacturer Richline Group, may soon be affected as well, the global risk consultancy says, as they source artisanal gold from the affected areas.<\/p>\n The risk assessment specialist notes that, in its current form, the Ebola epidemic\u00a0won\u2019t impact the nation\u2019s cobalt production, as the distance from the Katanga region largely prevents its spread. Ellis bases his predictions on the DRC\u2019s low-risk score achieved in Verisk Maplecroft\u2019s Pandemic Transmission Index, which measures the likelihood of pandemic spread relative to connectivity, including travel infrastructure.<\/p>\n The DRC generates more than 60% of the world\u2019s cobalt, a key material for making the batteries that power electric cars.<\/p>\n The consultancy\u2019s outlook is not encouraging as it expects health workers to continue to struggle to track contacts with Ebola patients, which makes it hard to stop the virus from spreading across the eastern provinces.<\/p>\n Violence in the DRC has forced Ebola treatment facilities\u00a0to shut. Five Ebola centres have been attacked since last month, sometimes by armed assailants. The violence led French medical charity Doctors Without Borders\u00a0to suspend its activities at the epicentre of the outbreak on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n This past week saw 58 new cases, the highest number in a week this, according to the International Rescue Committee (IRC).<\/p>\n \u201cWe are already almost seven months into this outbreak and at this stage we should be seeing the case rate declining, not on the rise,\u201d Tariq Riebl, IRC\u2019s Emergency Response Director in the DRC, told Times Magazine<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWith an optimistic outlook this outbreak is predicted to last another six months \u2014 but realistically we could be looking towards another year of fighting this disease,\u201d Riebl said.<\/p>\n The post More than a third of gold mines in Congo exposed to Ebola \u2014 report<\/a> appeared first on MINING.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In its current form, the epidemic won’t impact the nation’s cobalt production, as the vast distance from the Katanga region largely prevents its spread, says global risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft.<\/p>\n The post More than a third of gold mines in Congo exposed to Ebola — report<\/a> appeared first on MINING.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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Kibali and Vector Resources\u2019 Adidi-Kanga gold mines are now threatened as the Ebola-infected areas grow, potentially jeopardizing output, says Verisk Maplecroft.<\/q><\/p>\n
In its current form, the epidemic won\u2019t impact cobalt production in the DRC, responsible for\u00a0more than 60% of the world\u2019s total.<\/q><\/p>\n
Worse before it gets better<\/strong><\/h4>\n