Companies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Union Miniere Du Haut Katanga, Congo Railway, Jfpi Corporation (Paperback)

Chapters: Union Miniere du Haut Katanga, Congo Railway, JFPI Corporation, Office National des Transports, Mwana Africa, Moto Gold Mines, Congo Chine Telecoms, Societe miniere de Bakwanga, Radio Television Groupe Avenir, Rawbank, Groupe L'Avenir, Regideso, Congotex, Sonas, . Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 41. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Union Miniere du Haut Katanga (UMHK) was a Belgian mining company, once operating in Katanga, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly, Congo Free State, from 1908, Belgian Congo, from 1972, Zaire). It was created on October 28, 1906, as a result of a merger of a company created by Leopold II and Tanganyika Concessions Ltd (a British company created by Robert Williams, which started prospecting for minerals in 1899, and was granted mining concessions in 1900), in order to exploit the mineral wealth of Katanga. It was owned jointly by the Societe Generale de Belgique, Belgium's largest holding company (which controlled 70% of the Congolese economy) and Tanganyika Concessions Ltd. Some of the remains of the UMHK form part of the present day company Umicore. During its years of operation, the UMHK greatly contributed to the wealth of Belgium, and, to a lesser extent, Katanga-which developed more than the surrounding regions without similar mineral resources. The company could be considered harshly capitalistic, but its motto at the time, best expressing their opinion of development was "good health, good spirits, and high productivity." Possibly it was because of this approach, and in order to keep and placate the workforce, that the Union introduced an accident compensation scheme as early as 1928 along with full free health care, housing and a very large wage.) Katanga's mineral wealth led to the construction of railway...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=16744