UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has directed Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to reform its mining sector by making sure private companies follow regulations.

Other ideas Ban proposed for Congo-Kinshasa’s mining sector are for the mining companies to do a better job of policing themselves and for an international commission to be established at the border.

The DRC’s diamond resources are rich enough to attract the interest of major mining companies like De Beers and Alrosa, but conditions are chaotic on the ground, with widespread wildcat mining and a lack of safety standards leading to mining cave-ins and even plagues.