Ulindi River | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• coordinates | 2°52′46″S28°45′56″E / 2.879351°S 28.765469°E |
Mouth | |
• coordinates | 1°40′23″S25°49′26″E / 1.673031°S 25.823879°E |
The Ulindi River (Swahili : Mto Ulindi) is a tributary of the Lualaba River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). There is a proposal to build a hydroelectric power plant on the river to power a gold mining project.
The river rises in the east of South Kivu and flows in a northwesterly direction through Maniema, joining the Lualaba downstream from Kindu. [1] The upper Ulindi valley has a richly diverse fauna, including many monkey species, chimpanzees, leopards, buffaloes, elephants and antelopes. [2] The valley has traditionally been occupied by the Lega and Nyindu people, speakers of Kilega and Kinyindu, a Bantu languages. It is administratively divided into the Mwenga, Shabunda and Pangi territories. [3]
In 1874 the Ulindi river was visited by the explorer Verney Lovett Cameron, the second European to cross Africa. [4] During the Congo Free State period, the region was under the control of Arabs from the east coast of Africa. Some of these such as Munie Chabodu and Munie Mtoro were agents of the Free State. The town of Shabunda was established by the Arabs. In 1899 it had an estimated population of 8,000. [3]
In June 1997 reports surfaced of a massacre of refugees in February that year at a bridge over the Ulindi just north of Shabunda in South Kivu. The refugees included unarmed civilians and armed Hutu fighters who had been involved in the 1994 massacre of Tutsis in Rwanda. They were attacked by Rwandan Tutsi troops who were fighting with the rebel forces of Laurent Kabila to overthrow the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. Witnesses said that hundreds of people were killed. [5]
In April 2009 Banro Corporation, a Canadian gold miner, reported results of a feasibility study for a hydroelectric power plant on the river. The project would exploit a 600 metres (2,000 ft) drop in the river over a distance of 18 kilometres (11 mi). It would cost about US$133.8 million, giving a "green" source of power for the Twangiza gold project. [6] The mining concessions cover 1,164 square kilometres (449 sq mi) and are located 41 kilometres (25 mi) south-southwest of Bukavu. [7] The proven and probable reserve based on a 0.5-gram-per-tonne cutoff grade is 4.54 million ounces of gold. The planned power plant will be in a "pristine montane forest", and will impact local fish-farming. [8]
A study showed that 1,860 households living in the area between the Twangiza and Lulimbohwe rivers would be affected, with 1,257 having to be resettled. Most of the people are farmers or artisanal miners. In the rivers downstream of the project about 1,725 workers are engaged in recovery of gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum, in operations controlled by various rebel groups and warlords, often under the protection of local authorities. The illegally extracted metals are sold on the black market. Decades of artisanal mining have contaminated the river beds with lead, chromium, arsenic and possibly mercury. [8]
South Kivu is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Its capital is Bukavu.
Banyamulenge is a community that lives mainly in South Kivu province. The Banyamulenge are culturally and socially distinct from the Tutsi of South Kivu, with most speaking Kinyamulenge, a mix of Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Ha language, and Swahili. Banyamulenge their role in Mobutu's war against and victory over the Simba Rebellion, which was supported by the majority of other tribes in South Kivu, their role during the First Congo War and subsequent regional conflicts (Rally for Congolese Democracy–Goma, Movement for the Liberation of the Congo, National Congress for the Defence of the People, and more importantly for the fact that two of the most influential presidents of their country declared them as enemy of the State both in 1996 and 1998.
The Ruzizi is a river, 117 kilometres (73 mi) long, that flows from Lake Kivu to Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa, descending from about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) to about 770 metres (2,530 ft) above sea level over its length. The steepest gradients occur over the first 40 kilometres (25 mi), where hydroelectric dams have been built. Further downstream, the Ruzizi Plain, the floor of the Western Rift Valley, has gentle hills, and the river flows into Lake Tanganyika through a delta, with one or two small channels splitting off from the main channel.
Rutshuru is a town located in the North Kivu province of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is headquarters of an administrative district, the Rutshuru Territory. The town lies in the western branch of the Albertine Rift between Lakes Edward and Kivu. The Ugandan border is 15 km east and the Rwandan border is 30 km south-east. Lava flows from the Nyamuragira volcano, 40 km south-west, have come within 7 km of the town in recent years. The town has over 800,000 inhabitants from many tribal backgrounds mainly Hutu followed by Nande, hunde, Tutsi and Pygmee.
The mining industry of the Democratic Republic of the Congo produces copper, diamonds, tantalum, tin, gold, and more than 70% of global cobalt production. Minerals and petroleum are central to the DRC's economy, making up more than 95% of the value of its exports.
Shabunda is a town and a territory of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Shabunda is the largest territory in the province, covering more than 25,000 square kilometres.
The Elila River is a tributary of the Lualaba River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It rises in Mwenga Territory of Sud-Kivu Province and flows west through Shabunda Territory and then Pangi Territory in Maniema Province, entering the Lualaba just downstream of Kindu.
Pangi Territory is an administrative area in Maniema Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The headquarters is the town of Pangi.
The Lega people are a Bantu ethnic group of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 1998 their population was about 250,000.
Kamituga is a mining town in the Mwenga Territory, South Kivu Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the east of the Bulega mining region and the western slope of the Mitumba mountain range. As of 2012, it had an estimated population of 13,995.
The Compagnie Minière des Grands-Lacs (MGL) was a Belgian mining company active in the Belgian Congo and then in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was established in 1923 and in 1976 merged with other companies into the Société Minière et Industrielle du Kivu (SOMINKI). The company was active in the eastern regions of Maniema and Kivu, with its main center at Kamituga in today's South Kivu. It extracted gold, tin and other minerals.
The Twangiza-Namoya gold belt is a belt of gold deposits in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Artisanal working of alluvial deposits dates back to the 1920s. More systematic exploration and exploitation took place in the colonial era and continues up to the present, although civil war and militia attacks have periodically disrupted operations and have caused several changes of ownership of the concessions.
Twangiza Mine is an open pit gold mine in South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which started operations in 2012. Production has been disrupted by attacks from rebel militias.
Namoya Mine is an open pit gold mine in Maniema province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which started operations in 2016. Production has been disrupted by repeated attacks from rebel militias. The original Canadian owner sold to a Chinese consortium in 2020 due to security concerns.
Société Aurifère du Kivu et du Maniema, SARL (SAKIMA) is a Congolese state-owned mining company which holds interests in various gold and tin mines in the provinces of Maniema, North Kivu and South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The company's operations are based in the town of Kalima.
Kasika is a village located in the Luindi Chiefdom within the Mwenga Territory of the South Kivu Province, situated in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Geographically positioned at 965 meters above sea level, Kasika strategically lies near Kihovu and Kahulile, approximately 108 kilometers from Bukavu, near the Rwandan border. The region is more than clusters of mud huts built around a Catholic parish on a hill overlooking a valley. It was the headquarters of the customary chief of the Nyindu ethnic community, whose house and office sat on a hill opposite the parish, a series of large, red-brick structures with cracked ceramic shingles as roofing, laced with vines.
Kaniola, also denominated as Kanyola, constitutes one of the sixteen groupements (groupings) within the Ngweshe Chiefdom of the Shi populace in Walungu Territory. It is situated at an altitude of 1,800 meters and lies 64 kilometers from the metropolis of Bukavu. It abuts the Kahuzi-Biéga National Park and the Nindja Chiefdom to the northeast, while it is contiguous with the Izege and Walungu groupements to the east. To the west, it is flanked by the Burhale and Mulamba groupements.
The Nyindu people are a Bantu ethnic group predominantly located along the Ulindi River in the northern, western, and southern regions, as well as near the Kilungutwe River in the Mwenga Territory of South Kivu Province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to the 1970 census, the total population of the Luindi Chiefdom was 14,920. By 1977, estimates put the Nyindu population at 15,000, with a population density of 14.6 persons per square kilometer in the Luindi Chiefdom.
The Kilungutwe River is a watercourse located in the Mwenga Territory of the South Kivu Province, situated in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). With an elevation of 882 meters, it functions as a tributary to the Ulindi River. Following the confluence with the Ulindi River approximately 30 km northwest, the Ulindi River proceeds on its course, eventually joining the Congo River. The Kilungutwe River was historically known as the gateway to the jungle from the highlands to the northeast.
Kilungutwe is a small village in the Luindi Chiefdom, located in the valley of the Kilungutwe River in the Mwenga Territory of the South Kivu Province. Situated in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kilungutwe is positioned nearby neighboring villages of Kirukungutu and Chowe. The region is a melting pot for many ethnic groups, boasting a diverse ethnocultural landscape. It is also a point of confluence for numerous ethnic groups, including the Lega, Nyindu, Shi, Fuliiru, Holoholo, Bwari, Vira, Hunde, Nyanga, Bembe, and Amba people.