BBC News Online: World: Africa

Company 'to list for Congo mining'

It's been reported that a company with substantial concessions to mine diamonds in the Democratic Republic of Congo is seeking a listing on the London Stock Exchange.

The London-based journal Africa Confidential says the company, Oryx Diamonds, is planning a launch next month, in partnership with the government of Congo and its ally in the civil war, Zimbabwe. Reports say the company has concessions worth one billion dollars in East Kasai province. A BBC correspondent says while there's no suggestion of illegality, there is a moral problem -- the danger that one of Africa's most intractable wars will be prolonged by such commercial ventures.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service