The Union Minière du Haut-Katanga (French; literally "Mining Union of Upper-Katanga"), often abbreviated to Union Minière or UMHK, was an Anglo-Belgian mining company which operated in the copperbelt in the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1906 and 1966.
Created in 1906, the UMHK was founded as a joint venture by the Compagnie du Katanga, the Comité Spécial du Katanga and Tanganyika Concessions Ltd.The Compagnie du Katanga was a subsidiary of the Compagnie du Congo pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (CCCI), which was controlled by the Société Générale de Belgique.With the support of the colonial state, the company was allocated a 7,700 square miles (20,000 km2) concession in Katanga.
UMHK was part of a powerful group of global copper producers. Its primary product was copper, but it also produced tin, cobalt, radium, uranium, zinc, cadmium, germanium, manganese, silver, and gold. By the start of World War II, the Société Générale controlled 70% of the Congolese economy. Exercising preponderant influence over the Comité spécial, the Société Générale effectively controlled the Union Minière from its inception to 1960. Some of the remains of the UMHK form part of the present day company Umicore.
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Union Minière du Haut Katanga | Community |
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