[1] In 1902 Empain founded the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer du Congo Supérieur aux Grands Lacs Africains (CFL) with a capital of 25 million francs.
The workers were drawn from a wide area of eastern Congo and Ruanda-Urundi, and included people of many different ethnic groups.
The outer Zone B was occupied by farmers responsible for providing supplies, under the authority of the traditional chiefs.
[2] In the 1960s MGL workers began engaging in artisanal mining to eke out their salaries, selling the gold they found informally.
MGM could not do much to stop this practice, since the miners and traders had a degree of protection from local politicians and traditional leaders.
[3] In the 1964 Simba rebellion, followers of Pierre Mulele from the south made a failed attempt to invade Kamituga.
[10] President Mobutu Sese Seko seized power in 1965, the start of a long period of economic turmoil.
In March 1976 the expanded company merged with SYMETAIN to create the Société Minière et Industrielle du Kivu (SOMINKI).