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Societé Minière De Bakwanga
Societé minière de Bakwanga (abbreviated MIBA) is a diamond mining company based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Historically, the company was the largest diamond producer in the world by volume. However, following decades of decline, the company currently produces only a small minority of the DRC's diamonds. MIBA operate near Mbuji Mayi, in Kasai-Oriental Province in south central DRC. Approximately 80% of MIBA's stock is owned by the Congolese government, with 20% owned by Asa Resources Group. Société Minière du Bécéka (1919–1961) During Belgian rule, diamonds were first discovered near the Bushimaie river in December 1918 by George Young, a Scottish geologist employed by the Compagnie du chemin de fer du bas-Congo au Katanga. The Société minière du Bécéka (Mibeka) was then founded in 1919, with the specific purpose of exploiting the mineral riches in the area of Mbuji-Mayi. A controlling stake in the company was held by Société Générale de Bel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Of The Democratic Republic Of The Congo
The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as the Cabinet, is the junior institution in the executive branch of the central government, central authority governing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the senior institution being the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, President of the Republic. The President is the head of state whereas the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Prime Minister is the head of government. Description Under Article 90 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Constitution of the Third Republic, or the unofficial English translation the government is composed of the Prime Minister, of ministers, of deputy ministers; and as the case may be, of deputy prime ministers, of ministers of state, and of minister delegates. The number of these ministers vary from one government to the next. The government is headed by the Prime Minister, appointed by the President, from the pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasion Of South Kasai
In August 1960 troops of the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville), Republic of the Congo (presently Democratic Republic of the Congo) attempted to crush the secession of South Kasai by invading the declared state's territory. Though initially militarily successful, the attack faltered under intense international and domestic political scrutiny and the Congolese troops were withdrawn. The Congo became independent in June 1960, and the following month the province of Katanga Province, Katanga State of Katanga, seceded from the country. As the Congo became engulfed by Congo Crisis, crisis, members of the Luba people, Luba ethnic group became subject to violent attacks. In early August, Muluba politician Albert Kalonji declared the secession of South Kasai, a region just north of Katanga, with the aim of creating a Baluba-dominated state. The Congolese central government, led by Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, resolved to put down the secessions by force. As South Kasai controlled r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zaire (currency)
The zaire (, code ) was the unit of currency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then of the Republic of Zaire from 1967 until 1997. All but six of the 79 series of banknotes issued bear the image of Mobutu Sese Seko. Two distinct currencies existed: ''zaire'' (1967–1993, ), and ''nouveau zaïre'' (1993–1998, ). History Zaire (1967–1993) The Zaire (), symbol: "Z", or sometimes "Ƶ", was introduced in 1967, replacing the ''Congolese franc'' at an exchange rate of 1 zaire = 1000 francs. The zaire was subdivided into 100 ''makuta'' (singular: ''likuta'', symbol: "K", initially and coincidentally equal to one Belgian franc), each of 100 ''sengi'' (symbol: "s", initially equal to one Belgian centime). However, the sengi was worth very little and the only sengi denominated coin was the 10 sengi coin issued in 1967. Unusually for any currency, it was common practice to write cash amounts with three zeros after the decimal place, even after rampant money printing and the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the first and only president of Zaire from 1971 to 1997. Previously, Mobutu served as the second president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1971. He also served as the fifth chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity from 1967 to 1968. During the Congo Crisis, Mobutu, serving as Chief of Staff of the Army and supported by Belgium and the United States, deposed the democratically elected government of left-wing nationalist Patrice Lumumba in 1960. Mobutu installed a government that arranged for Lumumba's execution in 1961, and continued to lead the country's armed forces until he took power directly in a second coup in 1965. To consolidate his power, he established the Popular Movement of the Revolution as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Congo War
The First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War, was a Civil war, civil and international military conflict that lasted from 24 October 1996 to 16 May 1997, primarily taking place in Zaire (which was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the conflict). The war resulted in the overthrow of Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko, who was replaced by rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila. This conflict, which also involved multiple neighboring countries, set the stage for the Second Congo War (1998–2003) due to tensions between Kabila and his former allies. By 1996, Zaire was in a state of political and economic collapse, exacerbated by long-standing internal strife and the destabilizing effects of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which had led to the influx of refugees and militant groups into the country. The Zairean government under Mobutu, weakened by years of dictatorship and corruption, was unable to maintain control, and the army had deteriorated significa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jonas Mukamba Kadiata Nzemba
Jonas Mukamba Kadiata Nzemba (born January 4, 1931) is a politician from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and former CEO of the state-run diamond company. Between August 1965 and October 1968 he was governor in turn of South Kasai, Kasaï-Oriental (former province), Kasaï-Oriental, Équateur (former province), Équateur and Orientale Province. He was again governor of Équateur Province between 27 August 1980 and 19 March 1983. Biography MIBA Zaire's president Mobutu Sese Seko appointed Nzemba the chief executive officer of the state's main diamond mining company, the Societé minière de Bakwanga (MIBA) in 1986. Based in the city of Mbuji-Mayi, formerly Bakwanga, the company provided as much as 80 percent of the world's industrial diamonds, but other than mining operations which provided much-needed hard currency, the region was widely neglected by Mobutu and the central government. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Zaire and Mobutu paid little attention to Mbuji-Mayi, offer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of last resort to national governments, and a leading supporter of exchange-rate economic stability, stability. Its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and poverty reduction, reduce poverty around the world." Established in July 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, primarily according to the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it started with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international monetary systems, international monetary system after World War II. In its early years, the IMF primarily focused on facilitating fixed exchange rates across the developed worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Oppenheimer
Harry Frederick Oppenheimer OMSG (28 October 1908 – 19 August 2000) was a prominent South African businessman, industrialist and philanthropist. Oppenheimer was often ranked as one of the wealthiest people in the world, and was considered South Africa's foremost industrialist for four decades. In 2004 he was voted 60th in the SABC3's Great South Africans. Early life and education He was born in Kimberley, on 28 October 1908 to Jewish parents, May (née Pollak; 1886–1934), and Ernest Oppenheimer (1880 -1957). His paternal grandparents and maternal grandmother were German Jews, whereas his maternal grandfather was Czech Jewish from Mikulov.His parents married in London in a Jewish ceremony in the Reform tradition. His '' Brit Milah'' was performed by Rabbi Harris Isaacs of the Griqualand West Jewish Congregation.Feinberg, Tali (29 June 2023)Oppenheimer’s Jewish facet shines brightly''The South African Jewish Report''. Retrieved on 11 February 2025 He spent his first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Beers
The De Beers Group is a South African–British corporation that specializes in the diamond industry, including mining, exploitation, retail, inscription, grading, trading and industrial diamond manufacturing. The company is active in open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial and coastal mining. It operates in 35 countries, with mining taking place in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Canada. It also has an artisanal mining business, Gemfair, which operates in Sierra Leone. From its inception in 1888 until the start of the 21st century, De Beers controlled 80% to 85% of rough diamond distribution and was considered a monopoly. By 2000, the company's control of the world diamond supply decreased to 63%. The company was founded in 1888 by British businessman Cecil Rhodes, who was financed by the South African diamond magnate Alfred Beit and the London-based N M Rothschild & Sons bank. In 1926, Ernest Oppenheimer, a German immigrant to Britain and later South Africa who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice Tempelsman
Maurice Tempelsman (born August 26, 1929) is a Belgian-American businessman, a diamond magnate and merchant. He was the longtime companion of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former First Lady of the United States. Early life Tempelsman was born on August 26, 1929, in Antwerp, Belgium, the son of Leon and Helene Tempelsman, both Orthodox Jews, in a Yiddish-speaking family in Antwerp's Jewish community. In 1940, Tempelsman and his family emigrated to the United States to escape persecution by Nazi Germany during World War II. When he was 16, Tempelsman began working for his father, a diamond broker. He attended New York City's public schools and New York University. Business interests In 1950, Tempelsman created a new marketing niche by persuading the US government to stockpile African diamonds for industrial and military purposes, with him as the middleman. In 1957, at the age of 27, he and his lawyer, Adlai Stevenson, traveled to Africa, where Tempelsman had begun forg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republic Of Congo
The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central Africa to the west of the Congo River. It is bordered to the west by Gabon, to the northwest by Cameroon, to the northeast by the Central African Republic, to the southeast by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south by the Angolan exclave of Cabinda, and to the southwest by the Atlantic Ocean. The region was dominated by Bantu-speaking tribes at least 3,000 years ago, who built trade links leading into the Congo River basin. From the 13th century, the present-day territory was dominated by a confederation led by Vungu which included Kakongo and Ngoyo. Loango emerged in the 16th century. In the late 19th century France colonised the region and incorporated it into French Equatorial Africa. The Republic of the Congo was es ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Industrial Diamonds
Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of electricity, and insoluble in water. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, but diamond is metastable and converts to it at a negligible rate under those conditions. Diamond has the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any natural material, properties that are used in major industrial applications such as cutting and polishing tools. Because the arrangement of atoms in diamond is extremely rigid, few types of impurity can contaminate it (two exceptions are boron and nitrogen). Small numbers of defects or impurities (about one per million of lattice atoms) can color a diamond blue (boron), yellow (nitrogen), brown (defects), green (radiation exposure), purple, pink, oran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
