Rumours persist of uranium smuggling at Shinkolobwe mine in Katanga

In the red soil of the southern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lies one of the world's richest mineral deposits - and a site that has troubled Western governments for decades.
The Shinkolobwe mine in Katanga province is a treasure trove of high grade ores: of platinum, copper, cobalt and, most infamously, the uranium used to produce the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945.

The mine, which was closed officially in 1960, continues to support thousands of "artisan" miners, mainly through the small-scale production of a mineral known as hétérogénite.
But the site has been the source of persistent rumours of uranium smuggling, including a credible report that in 2005 Iran tried to export a large quantity of yellow cake that was intercepted by Tanzanian Customs officials.

Tricia Feeney, a campaigner for Rights and Accountability in Development (Raid), an Oxford-based campaign group, said there was no question that uranium smuggling had taken place from Shinkolobwe. "It was not industrial or large-scale but it's been going on for a long time. There has been talk of Lebanese, Indian and Pakistani middlemen," she said, adding that corruption involving local officials remained endemic in the region.

The situation at Shinkolobwe led to an investigation in 2004 by the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Ms Feeney said that recently there had been signs of increased security at the site. "The road is officially blocked but the soldiers let through whoever they want to allow in," she said.

Other African countries insist that they control uranium exports tightly. Becki Khumalo, spokesman for South Africa's Ministry of Mines, said it had sold uranium only to Britain, the US and France. "We have had no approaches from Iran and I can categorically state we have sold no uranium to that country," he told The Times.

A Zambian government spokesman said his country had also not sold Iran any uranium and said he knew of no official approaches to any country in the region. However, he was unable to say what happened to uranium smuggled out of neighbouring DRC.