The leading DRC copper company Anvil Mining brought the site into production in October 2002 with some 10% Community Trust involvement.

[citation needed] While the mine was operational, heavy trucks carrying concentrate crossed Lake Mweru on a large motorised pontoon ferry from Kilwa to Nchelenge, a distance of 44 kilometres (27 mi), from where they drove 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) to a copper smelter in Tsumeb, Namibia.

[1] In October 2004 there was a small-scale uprising in Kilwa which was brutally suppressed by FARDC soldiers of the 62nd Brigade.

[3] As of December 4, 2008, Anvil had placed Dikulushi Mine on "Care and Maintenance" due to the low prices of copper.

[6] The mine was mothballed in 2015 by Mawson West after the mine produced lower than expected yields of copper [7] Facing financial difficulties, Mawson West was acquired by Galena Private Equity Resources (a subsidiary of Trafigura) and delisted from the Toronto stock exchange.