Bisie, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
Coordinates: 1°2′S 27°44′E / 1.033°S 27.733°E
Bisie is a tin deposit in the Walikale territory of the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), although the name is also sometimes used for the nearby village of Manoire. The mine was formerly an illegal source of an estimated 15,000 tons of tin, or 4% of global production. In early 2018 artisanal mining activity has stopped, and Alphamin Resources Corp., an exploration company, based in Mauritius, is leading an exploration of the site.
Bisie mine was established after a hunter discovered cassiterite there, which led to a frenzy.
Following the Second Congo War, Mai Mai-allied militia in were to form the 85th brigade of the national army, receive training and then fragment when they deployed throughout the country. The militia refused to cooperate, however, and since then they controls the production and transport of tin, and the economics of Bisie, and nearby Manoire village, under the supervision of Colonel Samy Matumo. The mine's estimated tin production has been as high $100 million a year. The militia extorted "taxes" on everything from entry to the mine, to mud hut for shelter $50 a month. They also collect sales taxes, $20 a week, from small peddlers
Tin was mined by hand through open-pit mining, and bags of tin that weighed 110 pounds or more were then dropped off at a central location, from which porters carried them on foot by individuals for over 30 miles, which typically took two days. When it arrived it was driven to the village of Kilambo, where it was loaded into Soviet-style cargo planes, flown to Goma, and sold to international dealers, such as Malaysia Smelting Corporation.
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