Authorities in Congo told dpa on Thursday that 36 illegal miners have died in a collapse at a copper mine in south-east Congo.
Richard Muyej, governor of Lualaba, where the accident at the Kamoto Copper Company took place confirmed that the“the current death toll is 36 miners’’.
Muyej said that the “the miners there were illegal’’ adding that a search for bodies was ongoing.
Congo is rich in minerals like copper and cobalt and accidents in mines are not uncommon.
Copper is a chemical element that is soft and malleable with very high thermal and electrical conductivity.
Copper is used as a conductor of heat and electricity, as a building material, and as a constituent of various metal alloys, such as sterling silver used in jewelry.
It is also used in cupronickel to make marine hardware, coins, constantan used in strain gauges and thermocouples for temperature measurement.
