La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) is a Congolese commodity trading and mining company headquartered in Lubumbashi, in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a state-controlled corporation founded in 1966 and a successor to the Union Minière du Haut Katanga. Gecamines is engaged in the exploration, research, exploitation and production of mineral deposits including copper, cobalt, tin, gold, uranium, zinc, among others.
One of the largest mining companies in Africa, and the biggest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gécamines sits on the world's greatest deposit of cobalt and has some of the world's largest deposits of copper. Copper mines in which Gécamines has a major interests include, but are not limited to, Kambove, Kipushi, Kamfundwa and Kolwezi.
Located in the mineral-rich Katanga Province, Gécamines is currently going through a multi-year, multi-billion reorganization strategic development plan with the main objective of repositioning itself as one of the world's top mining majors, mainly by focusing on core strategic assets in which the company has majority shares. Among others, Gécamines has forged partnerships and joint ventures with companies such as Anglo-Swiss Glencore International, American giant Freeport-McMoran and London-based Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation. Seeking to enhance profitability by creating lucrative competitive partnerships, in 2013 the Congolese firm appointed US businessman and American Jewish Congress President Jack Rosen on its Board of Directors.In 2015, Gécamines signed a strategic copper and cobalt cooperation accord with Hong-Kong-listed China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining.In 2016, Gécamines and China Non-Ferrous Metal Mining signed a memorandum of understanding
for the construction of two factories, one of which includes Gécamines flagship property project of Deziwa, projected to produce 200.000 tons of copper per year.