By: OrePulse

President Félix Tshisekedi said plans to convert the Mutoshi Technical Institute in Kolwezi, in Lualaba province, into a center of excellence for mining-sector training, research and industrial innovation are moving forward, according to a government statement issued after the 101st meeting of the Council of Ministers in Kinshasa on October 23.

The project, led by state mining company Gecamines, is intended to help the Democratic Republic of Congo build more domestic processing and workforce capacity around its minerals sector rather than relying mainly on exporting raw ore. It is organized around three pillars — minerals, electricity and education — and is meant to be linked with the planned African Centre of Excellence for Batteries and the Musompo special economic zone, according to the statement.

Tshisekedi asked Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka to coordinate a roadmap with the relevant ministries covering funding, the modernization of infrastructure and training programs, research partnerships, industrial collaboration and a timetable for bringing the center into operation in phases.

The statement also referenced a patented technology called the Efficiency Measuring Apparatus, developed by Congolese scientist Sandrine Ngalula Mubenga, as connected to the project.

The Mutoshi center is intended to support training and research tied to the mining and processing of battery-related minerals such as copper and cobalt, which are concentrated in the Kolwezi area of Lualaba province. How much difference the center makes will depend on the roadmap the government produces, the funding it secures, the equipment installed and whether the training matches what mining and processing companies in the region actually need.