§ Mr. Hastingsasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the extent of the dependence of the British defence industry, direct or indirect, on Kolwezi copper.
§ Dr. GilbertThe only dependence of United Kingdom industry on copper production in Kolwezi is on the cobalt which is a co-product with copper. In general, United Kingdom industry obtains about half its supplies of cobalt from Kolwezi and other mines in Zaire. Supplies to the defence industry form a relatively small part of this.