A DW journalist has been given unprecedented access to rebel-controlled gold mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Miners and civilians are forced to risk their lives, while the wealthy buy gold in the global north.

We’ve been waiting for hours to meet rebel leader William Yakutumba. As darkness falls, a man who had introduced himself as Raymond, Yakutumba’s secretary general, assures our group of journalists that the rebel strongman is marching through the forest that surrounds Misisi town with his security escort.

He and some other rebels are drinking beers in a hideout, which from the outside looks like a hotel closed for construction. But from behind a barrier, it serves as a base for the Mai-Mai Yakutumba rebels who are from one of the most active groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Mai-Mai Yakutumba are feared for their brutality. They have repeatedly attacked an ethnic group called the Banyamulenge, a Tutsi group, that they say doesn’t belong to the DRC. They drive them out, indiscriminately raping and killing as they burn down entire villages.

‘Friends in high places’

The rebels can move freely without having to hide because they work together with the army, Raymond explains.

“A colonel of the Congolese army is my good friend,” he brags, calling what he says is the colonel’s number. He has a brief conversation on speakerphone — “proof” for the international journalists.

He shows us pictures on his cellphone: His rebel colleagues posing with AK47s and other heavy weapons as children stand among them. They all wear uniforms he claims they stole from defeated Congolese army soldiers.

“We have all kinds of uniforms. If I want to, I can become a police officer.” He joined the rebels after his whole family was killed when he was 9 years old, he says. They see themselves as a self-defense group against their enemies.

We wait in vain. Yakutumba never shows up. But we receive his permission to enter two mines that the group controls: Mitondo and Makungu, near Misisi town.

Who controls the mines?

According to a recent UN report, the group not only controls these two mines but also the routes to them and a vast area around them.

Our journey brings us to Nyange village, located beside the mines. But the village chief is not happy with our permits. Nor is he convinced by our letter stamped by the governor of South Kivu region. It seems the local chief doesn’t want us to go there.

Officially, the mine is controlled by the local authorities and the mining ministry, but after hours of discussions the village chief eventually admits to our local contact: He can’t let us go to the mines — it’s not safe because the rebels control it, not him.

After a long conversation, we admit to him that the rebels have given us their permission to visit.

He’s stunned. And lets us proceed. But only after we agree to be accompanied by a police officer, a soldier, an intelligence officer, the son of the chief, and a man who introduces himself as part of the local mining cooperative — but whom we later learn is actually one of the rebels.

Rebels in red

We notice all rebels we meet wear something red. Red trousers, red hats, a red ribbon somewhere. Red is their distinguishing feature so that villagers know who they are. They live among the villagers. Everyone knows they control the mine and tax the people working there.

According to the UN report, the Mai-Mai have been in control since December 2021, when they forced government troops out.

The Mai-Mai appointed a parallel administration to govern the mine, says the UN report, which miners confirm.

According to the report, up to 150 diggers are at the site, which produces between 1 and 2 grams of gold per week.

Miners extorted

At the Mitondo mine, our local contact manages to distract our entourage, allowing us to hide in one of the narrow tunnels and speak to one of the miners, who we call Michael. He tells us that he has to pay a “tax” of a few dollars each month to the rebels just to access the mine.

Together with different government taxes and the contribution for the mining cooperative, there’s not much of his salary left on which to survive.

“They take over what is most lucrative. They know exactly which mine is producing most gold, down to which tunnel,” Michael tells us.

In meter-wide tunnels that feel overwhelmingly hot, he scrapes out a gold-bearing rock. He tells us about their special breathing technique to help deal with the stifling heat. Flat, regular breaths to prevent fainting. “When you go to work, you just pray to God. Because we’re feeling like it’s a death sentence,” he says.

Often it is — when the mines cave in. Six years ago, more than 20 people were buried alive.

Another digger, Patrice, remembers it well. “I was there with my three brothers and other miners. All of them were trapped inside the mine. Up until now, their bodies are still inside. I was sad, really sad. But I can’t be sad for long. I have to earn a living.”

Other miners have similar stories. They say the Mai-Mai are never far away, even now that they’re hiding further up the mountain because they were told that we were coming.

Later, we confronted the Mai-Mai Yakutumba via WhatsApp about these allegations, but they never replied. Local government officials also repeatedly declined our interview requests. Several sources tell us that the rebels often work together with local authorities and even share profits with them.

Surviving a rebel attack

We later meet Esther Nanduhura, who is from the Banyamulenge ethnic group targeted by the rebels. She describes how she survived an attack by the Mai-Mai Yakutumba. 

“They found us at the place we had sought refuge and they killed three people. Then they murdered my father-in-law and injured my mother-in-law,” she recalls.

Both of them were over 80, she says. She and her family were forced to march for days with no food. Then they took her husband. She never saw him again. Later she learned he had been hacked to death with a machete. They killed dozens, displaced hundreds in several attacks. 

Now Esther is safe, sheltering with her eight children at a friend’s house in a bigger city.

She is aware that gold from DRC ends up in the rich part of the world; people there pay a lot of money for it.

“The Mai-Mai sell gold to white people to buy weapons — that’s why they sell the gold. I want to tell these white people to stop buying from them. So they stop killing us with these weapons.”

For Esther it is a simple equation: As long as armed groups can reap profits from gold mining, they will keep earning the cash to kill. 

Fake gold certificates

The Democratic Republic of Congo has some of the purest gold in the world. Belgian businessman Yasin Karim Somji tells us that he is convinced of the purity of the gold in Misisi and other places in the North and South Kivu regions. He plans to soon open the first gold refinery in the DRC and export the gold to Europe, Asia and America.

“At the moment we are in long discussions with the government. They will check all artisan mine workers who will come here; they will try and trace it and maybe it will help. I hope it will help,” Somji says.

But it will be hard to make sure the gold that comes out of the region is not linked to rebels. Traders tell us that tracing certificates that indicate the origin of the gold are already altered in the first city they reach, Bukavu, in the DRC’s East.

From here it is often smuggled or officially exported — with fake certificates — across the border to Rwanda and other East African countries. Then it is transported to Dubai, a worldwide trading center for gold.

Eventually, it’s sold to the end consumer in Europe, the United States and other countries.

The vast majority of gold from DRC is smuggled illegally across the border. When it reaches its final destination it is virtually impossible to know where it originally came from.

Source: DW

Mining represents a critical sector for the development of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According to the World Bank, the mining sector has dominated the Congolese economy since the early 1910s.

This domination is unsurprising, given that the country is incredibly rich in minerals. For example, the Katanga Copper Belt’s cobalt reserves total an astounding 5 million tonnes, making it the world’s largest known cobalt deposit. The DRC also possesses the largest known diamond deposits and the largest gold deposits in the world. Its copper reserves make this region the second richest copper region in the world, with 70 million tonnes, surpassed only by Chile. Other significant mineral resources in the DRC include tin, tantalum and tungsten.

Since peace returned to the DRC, successive governments have faced significant challenges in their efforts to establish or re-establish both industrial production and a legal framework for this key sector.

After several years of discussion, the Congolese Mining Code was enacted by the Congolese Congress in 2002, replacing outdated mining legislation. This resulted in both an increase in foreign direct investments and a steady increase in copper production in the years prior to the global financial crisis of 2008. Despite this crisis, more than 1 million tonnes of copper were transported in 2014, up from 9,000 tonnes in 2003, the year a peace agreement officially ended Africa’s deadliest civil war.

The 2002 Mining Code was substantially amended by Law No. 18-001 of 9 March 2018 (the New Mining Code). The New Mining Code notably reinforces local content requirements, reduces the tax regime attractiveness and abrogates the 10-year stability clause provided for in the 2002 Mining Code.

Major mining companies have threatened to challenge the New Mining Code through international investment arbitration. However, the DRC government has maintained all the problematic amendments in the New Mining Code.

Some commentators had predicted that, as a consequence, the DRC’s mining sector could suffer a slowdown. This has, however, not been the case and the DRC’s mining sector continues to grow. In 2021, the mining sector was still a key driver of DRC’s growth, with copper and cobalt production rising by 12 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively.

Legal Framework

The New Mining Cod was adopted by the Congolese Parliament on 27 January 2018 and promulgated by the President of the DRC on 9 March 2018. The implementing measures of the New Mining Code are set forth in the Mining Regulations adopted in June 2018.

The DRC is a member of several international organisations, including the World Trade Organization, the World Bank Group, the Multilateral Investment Agency, and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. The DRC has also ratified the 1958 New York Convention on the recognition of foreign arbitral awards.

In addition, the DRC voluntarily adhered to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative criteria, and has entered into several bilateral investment treaties and into a convention for the avoidance of double taxation with Belgium.

Additionally, with the stringent UK Bribery Act and US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in force, it is essential for any company doing business in the DRC to seek professional commercial and legal guidance to mitigate business and regulatory risks. Section 1502 of the US Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform Act and the new EU Conflict Minerals Regulation are also relevant for businesses active in the DRC. Depending on the type of mineral traded (tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold), these laws impose extensive supply-chain due diligence obligations on both upstream and downstream companies.

At the regional level, in July 2012 the DRC joined the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). OHADA law can only benefit further investment by providing companies doing business in the DRC with a single, modern, flexible and more reliable business law framework, which already applies in 17 OHADA Member States and which supersedes previous or subsequent national legislation. OHADA law is of particular interest to mining companies, as it primarily covers commercial, corporate, loan-guarantee, accounting and arbitration law. OHADA law entered into force in the DRC on 12 September 2012. In addition, a one-stop shop for business start-ups was instituted and shows encouraging development.

Congolese law, which is based on civil law and closely modelled on Belgian law in particular, will remain applicable in areas not governed by OHADA law. It will, thus, be of paramount importance to understand the myriad applicable pieces of legislation to properly navigate the remaining bureaucratic, legal and, especially, cultural and linguistic hurdles.

The Mining Cadastre receives applications for mining rights, grants mining rights and keeps records of mining rights, among other functions. Moreover, the DRC has created a national transparency initiative committee with respect to the management of extractive industries in the DRC. Any regulation is issued by the Ministry of Mines, which supervises mining activities at the national level. At the highest level, the President of the DRC is empowered to enforce the mining regulations and to classify mineral substances as reserved mineral substances, if applicable.

Mining rights and required licenses and permits

Underground minerals belong exclusively to the state. However, any private party may be authorised by the state to engage in mining activities (from exploration to exploitation and distribution), provided that specific objectives of eligibility, priority and capacity criteria set forth in the Mining Code are met. The types of mining permits available in the DRC are research permits, exploitation permits (including small-scale mines) and tailing exploitation permits. Specific legislation regarding artisanal mining and quarry rights also exists.

Companies that wish to develop mining activities in the DRC are required either to incorporate a Congolese company or to elect domicile with a ‘mining agent’ as a condition of eligibility to obtain an exploitation permit. In addition, to be eligible for a mining permit, companies are obliged to either form a joint venture with a state-owned company (such as Gécamines) that already holds the necessary permits, or freely assign a mandatory 10 per cent stake of its share capital to the DRC.

Any person wishing to engage in prospecting or reconnaissance activities must make a prior declaration to the Mining Cadastre and seek a prospecting permit. This permit entails no priority whatsoever in relation to potential future exploration or exploitation rights.

An exploration permit may be granted to any eligible private company for a period of five years, renewable once for the same duration, with respect to all mineral substances (Article 52). To be eligible for an exploration permit, a company must demonstrate a minimum financial capacity of at least five times the total amount of the annual surface rights payable for the area covered by the exploration permit (Article 58). The surface rights amount to US$5.89 per square metre (Article 397). In addition, the company will have to submit a rehabilitation and mitigation plan before starting any research activity. There are specific obligations for maintaining the permit, including the requirement to start exploration work within one year of delivery of the permit (Article 197).

Should the holder of a research permit demonstrate through a feasibility study the existence of an economically workable ore deposit (including tailings, for which specific permits exist) and sufficient financial capacity for the development, construction and exploitation of a mine, the Minister of Mines may grant an exploitation permit for a duration of 25 years, renewable for successive periods of 15 years. The exploitation permit may be refused by the Minister of Mines only for specific reasons, which are exhaustively listed in the Mining Code. Obtaining an exploitation permit obliges the operator to transfer to the state a free carry participation of 10 per cent of the operator’s share capital (Article 71). In practice, however, operators that are engaged in joint ventures with state-owned permit holders, such as Gécamines, are not required to transfer 10 per cent of their share capital to the state.

In addition to exploration and exploitation permits, the Mining Code contains specific provisions with respect to artisanal or small to very small-scale mining rights, and quarry rights. Quarry rights relate to construction materials rather than mineral substances.

The timeline for obtaining an exploration or exploitation permit is as follows.

The Mining Cadastre has 20 working days to examine the request and to make a decision (Article 40). Following this, the Directorate of Mines must conduct a technical investigation. The office in charge of the protection of the environment examines the environmental impact study and the environment management plan. These reviews must be conducted within a period of time set forth in the Mining Code for each type of request (typically, for exploitation permits, within 30 working days for the Mining Cadastre, 60 working days for the Mining Directorate and 180 working days for the environmental investigation). Should any of the aforementioned authorities fail to reach a decision within the required time frame imposed by the Mining Code, the mining permit will be considered granted.

When a favourable decision is made, the Mining Cadastre will then grant the mining permit to the applicant, provided that the relevant surface rights have been paid for within 30 business days.

All mining rights are conveyable under the Mining Code. A specific right of amodiation (comparable to a long lease agreement) also entitles the holder of an exploitation permit to transfer all or part of such rights under a rental scheme. Exploitation permits can also be mortgaged. Finally, while mining rights are valid only for specified mineral substances, permits can be extended to additional minerals through specific procedures.

Processors of mineral substances who do not hold mining rights and whose activities are limited to processing activities must obtain a specific licence in this respect pursuant to the Mining Code.

The holder of a research permit will also have to submit a rehabilitation plan for the site after its closure to be eligible for an exploitation permit. The closure of a research or exploitation centre must be promptly notified to the Mining Administration.

The holder of the mining rights is required to obtain a financial guarantee in an amount sufficient to carry out environmental rehabilitation.

Environmental and social consideration

iEnvironmental, health and safety regulations

The New Mining Code and the Mining Regulations contain several environmental and health and safety regulations. Environmental regulations are by far the most detailed.

While most health and safety regulations are contained in the Congolese Labour Code, and are therefore not specific to the mining sector, the Mining Regulations do contain specific safety directives regarding the use of explosives.

In order to conduct mining operations, an Environmental Exploitation Permit from the Ministry of the Environment is mandatory, in addition to the environmental obligations arising from the New Mining Code.

Environmental Compliance

Environmental compliance obligations exist at every stage of a mining project:

1. the holder of an exploration permit must apply for the approval of a mitigation and rehabilitation plan in which the measures taken to limit and remedy environmental damage caused by exploration work are described;
2. any person applying for an exploitation permit is required to submit an environmental impact study and a project environmental management plan, which must contain a description of the ‘greenfield’ ecosystem and of the measures envisaged to limit and remedy harm caused to the environment throughout the duration of the project; and
3. to be granted an environmental exploitation permit, the holder of a mining right is required to submit an environmental impact study and an environment management plan to the Ministry of the Environment for approval.

As mentioned above, rehabilitation costs must be covered by a financial guarantee to be set up in accordance with the Mining Regulations.

Under the Mining Code, occupants of the land covered by a mining permit have a right to be indemnified when their activities (such as agriculture) are affected by a mining project, in accordance with the conditions set out in the New Mining Code.

Other rights include an obligation for the operator to consult with local authorities.

Additional provisions of the New Mining Code are intended to ensure the conservation of any archaeological findings that occur during the course of the project.

Generally speaking, the DRC’s infrastructure is either outdated or non-existent. In order to develop and maintain activities and personnel, mining operators are therefore frequently required to participate in local development, for instance by funding roadworks, hospitals or schools.

The New Mining Code authorises a permit holder obtaining any further licences or permits to install and operate processing plants inside the perimeter of the relevant permit.

There are no specific restrictions on the import of equipment and machinery, or on the use of foreign labour and services, save for certain tax measures pursuant to the New Mining Code. However, when applying for the granting of a mining right, mining operators must, pursuant to the New Mining Code, commit to process and manufacture minerals in the DRC. If for any reason it is impossible to do so, a derogation may be granted subject to the fulfilment of several criteria. However, current mining title owners will benefit from a three-year period to comply with this industrialisation requirement.

Expatriate labour may be hired but the New Mining Code (like its predecessor) provides that, assuming equal qualifications, priority must be given to the local labour force for the performance of mining operations.

The sale and processing of mineral substances are unrestricted under the New Mining Code: the exploitation permit holder is free to sell the products to customers of his or her choice, at freely negotiated prices.

Generally, there are no legal restrictions on foreign investment in the mining sector, and currency exchange provisions are quite liberal.

There are, however, some basic obligations with which operators must comply. The DRC adopted new Exchange Control Regulations on 25 March 2014, which have been in force since 24 September 2014. Their main characteristics are as follows:

1. the export or import of funds equal to or above US$10,000 is subject to a licence called ‘Modèle RC’ issued by the Central Bank as an approved intermediary; certain documents justifying the transfer will need to be provided;
2. subject to the relevant tax being paid, the filing of the Modèle RC form and the delivery of other supporting documents required by the Central Bank, commercial banks in the DRC are authorised to transfer dividends, capital gains, interest, principal, fees and commissions on foreign loans outside the DRC. There is no exchange control restriction on transfers abroad of profit by a foreign company;
3. there is a restriction for the payment in cash of amounts above or equal to US$10,000;
4. repatriation of incomes is within 60 days;
5. transactions are paid for in local currency, unless otherwise agreed; and
6. taxes are paid in local currency.

A recent ministerial decree adopted on 2 February 2022 introduced the Centre de négoce (Trading Centre), which takes the form of a public centre for artisanal miners with adequate infrastructure to regulate and facilitate activities related to the sale of mineral substances from areas open to artisanal mining.

Trading Centres will offer a range of practical and supply chain-related services to artisanal miners, such as the receipt of batches, weighing, sampling, packaging, sealing and quantitative and qualitative analysis of mineral substances. Trading Centres aim to provide a safe space whereby offer and demand for artisanal mining can meet in a regulated environment. They will also serve as central points for the collection of taxes and duties that are due as a result of the mining operations and transactions.

Each Trading Centre is to be formally and effectively set up by a provincial decree deliberated in the provincial council of ministers, on a proposal of the provincial minister of mines, after consultation with other state services and civil society organisations.

This initiative constitutes a revolutionary step towards the formalisation of the artisanal mining sector, subject to significant tensions between miners and traders.

The tax and customs regime applicable to DRC mining companies is exhaustively set forth in the New Mining Code.

The main taxes levied on mining companies include surface taxes and rights, corporate income taxes, royalties, taxes on dividends and interest rates, and taxes on wages.

The value added tax regime entered into force on 1 January 2012. Since then, import of goods is subject to VAT at a rate of 16 per cent. The tax base equals the cost, insurance and freight value plus any (customs) duties and taxes (with the exception of VAT itself). Import of goods is deemed to take place when the goods cross the border of the DRC, but VAT is only due upon the declaration for release of the goods.

Prior to the entering into force of the DRC 2021 Financing Act, the Ordinance Act instituting the VAT, as amended and completed from time to time, exempted the imports of goods made by the mining companies from VAT. However, the 2021 Financing Act has removed this special VAT exemption and introduced a new VAT treatment for the imports of goods by mining companies. The VAT due on goods imported by mining companies will now be established and liquidated by way of declaration of goods to customs at the point of entry and will subsequently be declared to the DRC tax administration department to which the licensed company belongs at the first VAT declaration due date following the import.

The modalities of application of the provisions of the 2021 DRC Finance Act, with respect to the aforementioned VAT regime on importation of goods, remain to be set out in a Ministerial Decree of the Minister of Finance.

Royalties (i.e., specific mining tax) are due on the gross commercial value of all commercial products. Royalties become due at the exploitation phase and are payable at the leaving of the goods from the exploitation or processing site of the project. They amount to 1 per cent for iron or ferrous metals, 3.5 per cent for non-ferrous metals, 3.5 per cent for precious metals, 6 per cent for gemstones, 1 per cent for industrial minerals, zero per cent for common construction materials and 10 per cent for strategic minerals determined by the government (i.e., copper, cobalt and coltan and geranium).

Although mining royalties are deductible expenses for the determination of corporate income tax, they are due regardless of the mining company’s profitability (Article 255).

The corporate income tax rate is set at 30 per cent of turnover, as it is the case under the DRC’s common regime.

Specific taxes are subject to the standard or common tax regime, such as taxes on rental revenues, real estate contributions (for surfaces falling outside the scope of the mining surface taxes or rights) and taxes on vehicles and roads.

The tax rate on expatriate remunerations only amounts to half the common tax rate set at 25 per cent.

The withholding tax rate payable on dividends is set at 10 per cent of the gross amount.

In principle, withholding tax on interest is levied at the ordinary rate of 20 per cent on the gross amount.

However, interest paid in respect of loans granted from abroad in a foreign currency is not subject to withholding tax provided that the interest rate and other loan conditions are at least as favourable as those the company could obtain from unaffiliated companies.

The New Mining Code has further implemented a super profit tax at a rate of 50 per cent. The super profit tax is due when the commodity prices rise by 25 per cent in comparison to those referred to in the feasibility study. The revenues subject to the super profit tax are then exempted from the profit tax (i.e., the corporate income tax at 30 per cent).

Lastly, the New Mining Code has introduced a capital gain tax, which will become due in the case of a share transfer; the amount that is taxable is calculated on the basis of the share transfer price and the accounting value of the share.

The customs regime applicable to mining companies includes some exemptions, particularly for temporary (for up to 18 months) imports, furniture imported by expatriates, etc. In addition, various preferential rates on imports apply to mining companies. These rates increase as the project progresses:

1. 2 per cent for all goods and products strictly for mining use, which are imported before exploitation of the mine has commenced;
2. 5 per cent for all goods and products strictly for mining use, which are imported after exploitation of the mine has commenced; and
3. 5 per cent for fuel, lubricants, reagents and consumer goods, which are destined for mining activities throughout the duration of the project.

The preferential rates of 2 per cent and 5 per cent only apply to goods that appear on the list that the holder of the mining licence must submit to the Congolese authorities, which must be approved by a joint Decree issued by the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Finance.

Any holder of a research or exploitation permit is subject to a surface right at the rate of US$5.89 per quadrangle.

The 2021 Financ ing Act provides for the application of the ‘non-tax revenue procedure’ to: (1) the payment of the 50 per cent share of royalties; (2) the transfer of grants; (3) the additional royalty; and (4) rents (in the case of amodiation) provided for in various mining contracts and paid to the companies in the state’s mining companies.

Outlook and trends

In early 2013, the Congolese government initiated a review of the 2002 Mining Code. The fact that some international institutions, such as the Carter Centre and The World Bank, have pointed out several flaws in the 2002 Mining Code has undoubtedly influenced the government’s decision to initiate such a major review of the Code. According to the New Mining Code’s explanatory statement, among other points, the aim of the Code is to:

1. enhance the government’s control over the mining sector;
2. increase the state revenues generated by mining activities;
3. further regulate elements related to the social and environmental responsibility of mining corporations; and
4. incorporate the latest changes in the Congolese administrative context; for instance, the introduction of VAT in the Congolese tax regime.

In 2015, the government decided to suspend the review of the 2002 Mining Code, presumably because of the turmoil that the contemplated amendments would cause for the mining industry. However, in May 2017, the new DRC government announced that it would pursue the review.

On 27 January 2018, after unsuccessful discussions with mining operators, the New Mining Code was approved by Parliament, promulgated by the President of the Republic on 9 March and published in the Official Gazette on 28 March 2018. In June 2018, a new mining regulation came into force, closing the legislative procedure of the mining sector reform.

Mining companies seeking to invest in the DRC must note that, pursuant to the New Mining Code, subcontracting activities in the mining sector are subject to Act No. 17/001 of 8 February 2017 establishing the rules applicable to subcontracting in the private sector (the Subcontracting Act). The Subcontracting Act notably provides that:

1. activities can only be subcontracted to Congolese-owned companies promoted by Congolese nationals (with strictly limited exceptions);
2. all companies established on Congolese national territory must put in place, internally, a policy of training that should allow Congolese nationals to acquire the technical know-how and the qualifications necessary to accomplish certain activities; and
3. companies may not subcontract more than 40 per cent of the value of a contract.

In this respect, whereas local content requirements were already imposed on subcontracting activities in the mining sector by a Ministerial Decree, the Subcontracting Act’s implementation measures impose rather unclear obligations on mining operators and subcontractors. Furthermore, it appears that the subcontracting authority has recently increased the frequency of its on-the-ground visits to control compliance of the mining actors with the Subcontracting Act and related regulations.

In line with a current African trend, the New Mining Code reinforces local content requirements. By way of example, 25 per cent of purchase desks’ share capital is reserved for Congolese citizens.

From a political point of view, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi has stated, in May 2021, his intention to revise all the contracts the DRC has signed with China as the scope of the terms of these contracts is now deemed contrary to the national interest and inequitable for the DRC. In particular, the contracts that were entered into between the DRC and China under the ‘infrastructure for minerals’ deal have remained on the President’s radar since then. The announced renegotiations are not expected to impact the current state of the mining sector at large.

The adverse economic conditions continue to take a high toll on several local mining companies, which are frequently managed primarily for the benefit of foreign shareholders, to the detriment of the companies themselves.

In November 2021, and after reading a parliamentary report denouncing the illegal exploitation of the country’s mines, specifically in South Kivu, DRC President Felix Tshisekedi issued a list of recommendations, including the suspension of the granting and transfer of mining permits and rights, both for research and for exploitation, until further notice.

The lifting of this measure was confirmed in a notice signed on 14 March 2022 by the General Director of the Mining Registry, on the instructions of the Minister of Mines in her letter No. CAB.MIN/MINES.ANSK/000589/01/2022 of 5 March 2022.

On 29 March 2022, the DRC became the seventh member of the East African Community (EAC). The accession to the EAC will imply access for the DRC to the customs union and single common market existing between the Member States of the Community. This will facilitate cross-border trade and transport of mining products, including through a better access to the strategic ports of Mombasa (Kenya), and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania).

Source: Lexology

A string of lights hangs from the ceiling, glowing in myriad bright colors, as if a child’s birthday party were underway. Raymond is sitting on a plastic chair under the lights, wearing a bright red cowboy hat and a yellow T-shirt with a large bottle of beer set on the table in front of him. Raymond laughs a lot and then pulls out his phone and scrolls through the photos.

The first pictures show a number of children, but they aren’t playing or carrying their book bags – they’re holding guns. And instead of wearing school uniforms, they’re in camouflage. Raymond is also in the photos with the rebels, looking far more aggressive. He’s not wearing a cowboy hat and is instead holding a gun and posing next to the children. He scrolls further. At some point, the photos stop, and dozens of porn videos follow. Embarrassed, he turns off his mobile.

We are visiting the Mai-Mai Yakutumba in South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The notorious rebel group dominates this region, massacring entire villages, raping women and extorting the populace – all to expand their power. And they control the gold business.

Raymond refers to himself as the secretary general of the Mai-Mai rebels, but it is hard to tell if the title really exists or if it is just something he has made up. He’s an emissary of sorts, because the rebel chief himself, William Yakutumba, is scheduled to arrive that night. For now, though, the DER SPIEGEL team must content itself with hanging out under the string of lights and listening as the secretary general shares his war stories.

At some point, the beer runs out and we are assigned rooms in the rebel’s flophouse. They can only be locked from the outside. The next morning, Yakutumba still hasn’t arrived, but there are serious-looking older men who again query us about what we want to ask the boss. Raymond with the cowboy hat is rebuked by them in Kiswahili. They tell him he doesn’t look tough enough and that the foreign journalists aren’t going to get the correct impression. Ultimately, though, the boss doesn’t show up at all – and no real reason is given for his absence. Raymond seems a bit disappointed.

Ultimately, though, the group does provide DER SPIEGEL, and the German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle, with access to the notorious gold mines around Misisi. It is the first time international journalists have been allowed inside. And there’s a reason for that: Gold is the main source of income for the Mai-Mai Yakutumba rebels and they use it to finance their armed conflict. The precious metal eventually ends up in rings and necklaces in Europe and the United States, but beneath that luster is the blood of the rebels’ victims.

Victims like Esther Nanduhura’s husband. It was early one morning in October 2021, the sun hadn’t even fully risen, when the fighters arrived in Bibokoboko, the village where they lived. They charged in from three sides with machine guns, machetes and torches. “I was sure at that moment that I was going to die,” Nanduhura says.

She’s a member of the Banyamulenge ethnic group, a minority that migrated from Rwanda and other regions generations ago. The Mai-Mai Yakutumba view them as their main enemy, as alien Tutsies who must be exterminated. They have already driven the Banyamulenge out of large parts of South Kivu and Bibokoboko is one of their last strongholds, guarded by United Nations peacekeepers and the Congolese military.

Nanduhura managed to find a hiding place, but her 80-year-old father-in-law wasn’t fast enough. The rebels shot him to death without hesitating. In the end, the Mai-Mai also found the 35-year-old and her family, making them go on a forced march that lasted for several days. After two days, they dragged her husband away and he never came back. Nanduhura later learned he had been hacked to death with a machete. “They threatened to kill us too, we didn’t get anything to eat and the children kept fainting,” she recalls. The prisoners weren’t released until a week later, and only a few returned to their village.

Nanduhura is safe now and lives in a large city far away from the horrors. “People in Europe buy gold from the rebels, thus financing the weapons they use to kill us. This has to end,” she demands.

In other words, the men under the string of lights, drinking beer in their red cowboy hats and showing off their photos and porn, are essentially murderers and rapists.

The Mines of the Rebels

Two porters carry mineral sand on their bicycle down into the valley. The path down is very dangerous. 

The road to the Mitondo gold mine is challenging, to say the least. The road gets narrower and narrower behind the town of Misisi. At some point, the old Land Cruiser gets stuck in a deep water hole, and from that point on, it is only possible to continue by motorcycle. Another motorcycle approaches with two sticks attached in an upright position behind the driver. Something is tied tightly between the sticks – it looks like a big sack or a mummy wrapped in cloth bandages. The motorcycle is carrying a body, which has been positioned upright. A miner has died, as so often happens. His body is now driven for hours over bumpy roads, back to his family, who will bury him.

After a few kilometers in the direction of Mitondo, it is no longer possible to go further by motorcycle and the journey continues by foot on a steep path. The climb is relentless, with the hot sun beating down, even though it is already late afternoon.

The mineral sand is carried down into the valley from the mines in sacks. From there, it is transported further using muscle power and bicycles. 

Suddenly a rattling can be heard, it gets louder, and someone gasps. “Look out” someone yells from above. Then a rickety contraption emerges, a bicycle the men cobbled together themselves, but without working brakes. A young man holds the handlebars, his feet in rubber boots dragging on the ground, panic can be seen in his eyes, even though he somehow manages this grueling descent every day. He has loaded large sacks with the ore and now has to find a way to transport them down into the valley, using his rubber boots as brakes.

Eventually the path flattens out a bit, winds around a rock to the left, and a dystopia suddenly comes into sight. Dozens of makeshift huts covered with blue tarpaulins line the road. People can be seen lying, squatting or sitting in them. Many still have their headlamps on their heads, their naked torsos shimmer brightly, they are completely covered in mud. Some look up briefly as they notice the visitors, but most continue to doze lethargically, their eyes half open. They don’t even seem to have the strength to nod in greeting anymore.

The miners live in these makeshift dwellings for weeks and months at a time and work in the mines every day. They eat in makeshift restaurants in a secluded parallel world. This young man is trying to earn some extra money by selling grooming products and alcohol. 

Behind the tents, two steep slopes rise to the left and right with a small stream flowing between them. Workers with shovels can be seen everywhere digging artificial pools or heaving brownish mud into wooden troughs and sieves. Then, suddenly, there’s a loud burst of thunder, a few men quickly jump to the side, and seconds later it becomes clear why: Huge chunks of stone are rolling down the slope toward where the workers had been standing only a moment before. A life-threatening job even outside the actual tunnels.

Only at second glance does it become clear that the steep slopes are littered with tunnels, barely more than a meter high, supported by thin wooden beams. The wet rock with the gold ore is pounded out in these tunnels using a hammer and chisel. Many don’t survive the search for the precious metal.

The United Nations issues an annual report on the Democratic Republic of Congo with a special focus on armed groups and their access to raw materials. The mines around Misisi make a regular appearance in that report. The experts write: “The Mai-Mai Yakutumba control the Makungu and Mitondo mines.” In Mitondo, the report states, the rebels forcibly drove out the Congolese army in December 2021 and established their own administration.

But armed men are nowhere to be seen. A group leads us through the mine, with some introducing themselves as representatives of the local gold cooperative, one man as a security officer, others cannot be identified. No one wears a uniform. Later, the miners say that several rebels dressed in civilian clothing had been part of the entourage. The boundaries are often blurred, with the rebels working hand in hand with government security forces and sharing the profits from gold mining.

James Mulemi*, 22, takes a break from washing the slurry in a yellow plastic container to talk about working in the mine. A man standing near him introduces himself as an intelligence officer, whatever that might mean. But James still speaks openly about the rebels, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

“They’re up there in the mountains,” the wiry teenager tells us, pointing to the slope next to him. He’s referring to the Mai-Mai with the guns who control everything here. He says that although they may be out of sight, they can still see everything that takes place down below – an invisible power that determines the lives of miners. In confidential conversations, other workers confirm James’ descriptions.

James then discusses how the rebels exert control. For every gram of gold he extracts from the mountain, he has to pay a fee: first to the Mai-Mai, then to the army and, next, to the cooperative, to the Mining Ministry and the local village chiefs. He says they’re all aware of what the other is doing and that they leave each other alone – the main thing is that the money keeps flowing. James recounts how the rebels kept meticulous records. “Since they arrived, we have had to pay the money upfront. Those who don’t are beaten brutally. There’s very little left for us to live on.”

After the beatings, usually with a heavy drill rod, the victims are then placed in the “hole,” as they call it. James describes it as being about 3 meters deep and 1 meter wide, adding that they are thrown in if the don’t pay their “taxes,” with as many as 10 people in the hole at a time. Several people claim they were forced to stay there for days without food. The Mai-Mai rebels didn’t respond to questions about the accusations submitted to them by DER SPIEGEL via WhatsApp.

Brutal Working Conditions

Another gold mine, Makungu, is located just a few hundred meters away from Mitondo, though they look almost identical. In one of the narrow tunnels, a light suddenly flickers on, the glow growing brighter and brighter until, finally, a mud-caked figure emerges from the gloom. Michael* rolls a bag of gold ore out of the tunnel, his eyes only slowly getting used to the daylight.

Michael is on guard, he owes the Mai-Mai money. He had recently ran into financial troubles and didn’t have the necessary protection money. “I was in the hole for a week and lost 10 kilos,” he says. You can still see the traces of the torment – he looks haggard despite his muscular body, with sunken cheeks. His tormentors could come back at any moment, and he still doesn’t have the money to pay them.

“I was making twice as much before the rebels came,” Michael says, adding that some of his co-workers have even been killed. Other miners confirm the torture and the violence, but say they haven’t been witness to murders.

Yet working conditions here are bad enough without the Mai-Mai. The tunnels are bored several hundred meters deep into the mountainside, and it is pitch dark inside, with only the light of headlamps piercing the darkness. The miners have to hunch as they walk through the tunnels, even crawling on all fours in some places. And the further they advance into the mountain, the hotter it gets, sometimes over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). The air is so thin that workers use a special breathing technique, shallow and steady, to avoid fainting.

The Dangerous Work of Gold Mining

The tunnels frequently collapse when the timbered beams yet again fail to hold them up. In a single incident six years ago, 20 young men were buried alive in the mine. They didn’t stand a chance. Michael’s brother died in the accident, and his body still hasn’t been recovered to this day. It’s only worth digging for gold, not for the dead. “Everyone here knows they could die at any time. But there’s no other way to make money in the area, so we keep going,” the 21-year-old says.

The Path of Gold

Below the gold mines, not far from the village, a deafening grating noise fills the air as a cement mixer-like device crushes the rocks that have been carted out of the mine. The stone powder is then mixed with water to form slurry and sieved several times. After a time, mercury is added, the chemical that separates the gold from the unwanted residue, ultimately yielding porous yellow nuggets that are some of the best in the world.

M’mbongecha Nyange stands next to the noisy machines built by his cooperative. This is where the traders come to buy the valuable nuggets before reselling them. Asked about the rebels and the role they play in the mines, Nyange answers: “In the past, the armed groups used to be here, but not any longer. None of it is true.” Every gram is supposedly strictly accounted for. Yet, according to official statistics, only about 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of gold were produced at Misisi between November and April 2022, an impossible figure given the daily output at the mines.

There is no receipt or even a certificate – the price is negotiated after reviewing the current rate for gold. “My boss is in Bukavu, that’s where the gold goes. He pays me to get him supplies and doesn’t ask questions,” says one shopkeeper.

Everything in the gold-mining town of Misisi revolves around the precious metal. The gold is resold in many shady stores. The owners report that the Mai-Mai collect protection money from them, as well. 

U.S. officials estimate that more than 90 percent of Congo’s gold is traded illegally, and it is impossible for consumers to know whether the product they are buying is clean or not. For the Congolese state, this means that millions in tax revenues are lost every year, while a corrupt elite shamelessly enriches itself.

The traders bring the gold from the mines to Misisi.

The precious metal is taken from city to city along the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of Congo to Bukavu.

From Bukavu, it usually continues further across the border into Rwanda, either smuggled in or officially exported.

From there, the traders ship the gold, sometimes through intermediary sites, often to Dubai.

The city in the United Araba Emirates is considered the global trade center for gold.

Bukavu is a notorious trading hub on the Rwandan border. Gold from all over the south of the country passes through the city, and from here, it is either smuggled to Rwanda or other East African countries, or it is officially exported with fake certificates. Then, the journey of the coveted precious metal continues to places like the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s largest trading centers for gold, before finally ending up as jewelry in places like Paris, Berlin or Madrid.

The Godfather of the Gold Business

One name has been in the headlines repeatedly in recent years: Alain Goetz. The Belgian is a godfather of sorts in the gold business in Africa. He set up large gold refining plants in Uganda and Rwanda and has allegedly negotiated with an armed group in the 1990s. He has also been convicted of money laundering and fraud. At times this year, he hasn’t even able to use his credit cards, laments Goetz in an interview with DER SPIEGEL.

In March, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Goetz because he was allegedly sourcing gold from regions controlled by armed groups, including the Mai-Mai Yakutumba. Goetz’s network of companies generated hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenues from trade in Congolese gold. “These illicit acts provide income for armed groups that threaten the peace, security and stability of the Democratic Republic of Congo,” a Treasury Department press release stated in justification of the sanctions.

The United States has slapped Alain Goetz, a Belgian citizen, with sanctions for allegedly buying gold that supports the rebels. 

For his part, Goetz accuses politicians in Washington of meddling in African affairs. But he also tries to portray himself as naïve. “Conflict gold? That term is very easy to use. Then also bananas, water, everything would be ‘conflict’ in that region. The only things I see as products of conflict are weapons, ammunition and bad people,” he says. Besides, he adds, it’s impossible to know exactly where the gold really comes from. Experts, though, believe that tracking its origin should be the duty of traders, since they earn a fortune with the controversial commodity.

Yasin Somji says he wants to build a flagship gold refining plant in Bukavu. 

Goetz’s competitors, meanwhile, are already working on their next steps. On a busy main road in Bukavu, a tall, corrugated iron fence keeps out prying eyes. Behind it, construction workers are laboring away as heavily armed police officers secure the site. Yasin Somji greets his visitors wearing a hardhat and a tight-fitting shirt, walking past huge vaults whose doors are being installed, while brand new machines from Italy are ready for installation. Somji plans to open Congo’s first gold refining plant soon.

When he talks about his plans, he sounds like the opposite of Goetz: young, smart and ethically responsible. He speaks about transparency and the ability to trace the origins of gold. But when asked about the concrete steps, he just repeats, “We will work closely with the government” – not exactly reassuring in a country like Congo.

In any case, he says the mines in Misisi have “great potential.” After all, the gold from the Congo is among the best in the world. The rebels feel the same.

*We have changed the names of the main protagonists in this story to protect their identities. 

Source: Spiegel

In 2017, Peace Direct’s ‘Peace Gold’ project was one of the five winning submissions in the BridgeBuilder Challenge, run by the GHR Foundation in collaboration with OpenIDEO. Gold mining in Eastern DRC degrades the environment and compromises the health of hundreds of thousands of people. Working with local partner Centre Résolution Conflits (CRC), Peace Direct developed the ‘Peace Gold’ project to support ex-combatants affected by war to produce ethical and environmentally friendly gold. After only two years, communities have increased their incomes and strengthened prospects for peace in the region.

Two ‘Peace Gold’ cooperatives bring communities together in the volatile province of Ituri with a common aim: producing ethical and environmentally friendly gold.

This important work has enabled former fighters to reintegrate into their communities. Previously feared, ex-combatants now play an active role in community life, and Peace Direct and CRC are working hard to reduce stigmatisation around former fighters, and to raise awareness on child protection in conflict. Nearly 2,000 cooperative members have received training in conflict resolution, of which one third were former fighters.

Child labour is another problem faced in the region. Through the Peace Gold project, over 950 children have been supported to return to school once more. Children who currently work in the mines will be able to return to school as their parents earn a decent income.

In an area struggling with active and ongoing ethnic tensions, this project is one example of what local peacebuilders do all around the world: help communities affected by violent conflict to heal themselves. The local population will also benefit from a less polluted environment due to fewer chemicals being used, and a more peaceful environment as ex-combatants will be supported to manage conflicts non-violently.

Source: For Peace

The muddy slopes surrounding the eastern Congolese gold-mining town of Kamituga hold vast wealth and crippling deprivation.

In South Kivu province near the borders of Rwanda and Burundi, Kamituga has mineral resources estimated to be worth $24tn (£17tn) in untapped deposits. Yet the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has one of the lowest levels of GDP per capita in the world and people work in dangerous conditions with little hope of scratching out anything more than a meagre existence from tough and dangerous work.

This longstanding disparity has only grown as the coronavirus pandemic pushed up the global gold price to its highest value ever last August ($2,048 an ounce). Meanwhile, local prices offered from buyers in Africa went down, according to the Africa Report, reflecting the imbalance in an international supply chain that exploits poor workers at the source of wealth. Hundreds of thousands of people in South Kivu, including women and children, work in the informal mining sector, mostly in gold.

Artisanal subsistence mining is the informal, small-scale mining done independently by people not officially employed by a mining company, using their own resources, usually by hand. Roughly one-fifth of the global mineral supply is produced by these miners. In 2019, there were an estimated 10 million people working in the sector across sub-Saharan Africa.

Germany’s Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources estimates DRC’s artisanal gold production to be 14 to 20 tonnes a year, with a value of $543m to $812m.

The miners face plenty of risks excavating the gold – 50 mostly young people died in a mine collapse at Kamituga last September – while health care and education for children is virtually nonexistent. Heavy metals such as mercury, which is used to separate gold particles from mud, can seep into the water table and food chain. And with much of the local population working in the mines, it makes for a labour shortage in the fields, so crops become scarce and food prices and malnutrition rise.

While DRC law bans child labour, children can be seen digging through the red mud of Kamituga’s rivers.

“Some children here work in the mines every day, working several hours at a time,” Idi Kyalondwana, who works for a mining co-operative, told France 24 after a visit to Kamituga in February. “Some actually go down into shafts that are several hundred metres deep and tunnels to dig for gold without any safety measures. It’s incredibly dangerous. There are often cave-ins.”

Gold mining also feeds into interlocking conflicts, shrouded in various forms of illicit trading. A recent Impact report documents how registered traders and exporters provide a veneer of legality by declaring a small percentage of their gold exports while pocketing huge profits and avoiding official taxes from illicit trade. This means that the gold smuggled out of DRC which flows on to the legal international gold market is tied to criminality, money laundering, armed groups and human rights abuses, according to the report.

The London Bullion Market Association published recommendations in November 2020 to reduce the illicit gold trade, but over the past hundred years little has changed.

Kamituga has been a mining town since the 1920s, when gold was discovered there, and a succession of big companies arrived.

The Kivu Mining Society and the Canadian company Banro Corporation, which has the principal mining concession in the town, control most of South Kivu’s gold deposits. Banro suspended operations in September 2019 due to rebel militia activity in the province. The company had been tolerant of artisanal mining on its concessions but has discouraged illegal mechanised efforts to extract gold.

Most of the miners are young men, but more and more women are drawn to the work in the hope of earning more than they can from agriculture. But female miners face discrimination and obstacles from local authorities, and have to sell through middlemen, according to the World Bank. Women have the least profitable jobs in the mines, depriving them of bargaining power when it comes to pay and working conditions. They are also vulnerable to sexual exploitation and violence. Women have started to unite and have built a network known by the French acronym of Renafem (National Network of Women in Mining), to fight discrimination.

Efforts to introduce greater transparency into DRC’s mining sector have seen minimal progress in a trade that enriches individuals and companies far from Kamituga’s murky rivers and hills. With little political will to drive real change, it seems the situation for those living on some of the richest soil in the world will remain precarious.

Source: The Guardian

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have discussed ways of enhancing friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

During a phone call Sheikh Mohamed received from the Congolese president, they reviewed the prospects of expanding their cooperation, especially in economic, trade and investment fields, to advance mutual interests.

The two leaders also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern and relevant developments.

Source: Emirates News Agency

“The nation’s mining sector presently accounts for 98% of exports, 18% of GDP and 11% of jobs. If the DRC captures 20% of the market share for battery manufacturing, it can add round US$54 billion to its revenue and lift its GDP tremendously,” says UN Beneath-Secretary-Basic Vera Songwe.

Africa is a resource-rich continent, dwelling to some 30% of the world’s recognized mineral reserves, together with 40% of recognized gold and as much as 90% of chromium and platinum reserves.

For hundreds of years, this mineral wealth has been extracted by international nations or corporations with little or no worth returned to the international locations they’re taken from, leaving Africa with little to realize from the worldwide mineral provide chain.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is in search of to alter that unequal dynamic, taking the primary steps to constructing a sustainable battery worth chain inside the DRC and higher Africa with the help of the brand new Democratic Republic of Congo Battery Council.

What’s the DRC Battery Council?

The primary goal of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s DRC-Africa Enterprise Discussion board in 2021 was to foster “the event of a battery, electrical automobile and renewable power worth chain and market in Africa”.

The DRC-Africa Enterprise Discussion board – after two hours of roundtable debate – introduced collectively high-level stakeholders to type the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Battery Council with three strategic goals:

• Assist worth creation of strategic minerals in Africa and strengthen productive capabilities within the battery worth chain, to generate job creation on the continent through the battery worth chain;
• Guarantee a socially, environmentally accountable and sustainable battery worth chain, which improves the lives of girls and the youth; and
• Encourage native and African champions to spend money on the battery business.

The council intends to arrange a particular monetary automobile to facilitate non-public investments and the participation of the inhabitants, and also will:

• Leverage partnerships to draw and promote funding and innovation and expertise for the transformation of Africa’s strategic minerals;
• Speed up intra-African commerce, expertise constructing and analysis to unlock innovation alongside the battery worth chain leveraging the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA);
• Collaborate to advertise intensive partnerships and far-reaching exchanges of modern concepts to make sure that the battery worth chain is sustainable and accrues worth to the native economic system;
• Catalyse, fast-track and scale up motion in direction of the imaginative and prescient; and
• Facilitate the era of evidence-based research, knowledge, data on the battery worth chain within the DRC and Africa.

The council’s objectives have garnered help from the UN Financial Fee for Africa, which champions financial cooperation amongst its member states.

“The DRC is on the coronary heart of the battery worth chain, as it’s dwelling to about 70% of world’s cobalt reserves,” UN Beneath-Secretary-Basic and govt secretary of the Financial Fee for Africa Vera Songwe stated.

“The nation’s mining sector presently accounts for 98% of exports, 18% of GDP and 11% of jobs.

“If the DRC captures 20% of the market share for battery manufacturing, it can add round US$54 billion to its revenue and lift its GDP tremendously.”

The pinnacle of state of the DRC and present chair of the African Union Fee (AU), Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, additionally expressed his enthusiasm for the council to start pursuing its objectives: “The machine is now launched, it’s mandatory to start out proper after this discussion board.”

Who’s concerned?

The important thing members included representatives of Zambia, Tanzania and Morocco, the UN Financial Fee for Africa, African Union Fee and Afreximbank.

Different organisations included Africa Finance Cooperation, African Improvement Financial institution Group, Bosch Africa, The Arab Financial institution for Financial Improvement in Africa, and AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ).

AVZ Minerals was the one aspiring mining firm to be invited to the discussion board, which managing director Nigel Ferguson sees as a logical selection.

“We’re sitting with one of many globally vital lithium and tin sources and the present geopolitical local weather is gaining higher give attention to inexperienced expertise,” Ferguson stated.

“The Australian Ambassador visited only recently and she or he stated the DRC President, Felix Tshisekedi, was very eager on having extra Australian corporations come and do enterprise in nation as a result of we have an excellent fame for our technical experience, our transparency and our professionalism.

“We additionally recognise the significance of getting a local people that is realising profit from a nationwide asset.”

AVZ Minerals has constructed its model on a close to ‘zero emissions’ operation, with an impartial greenhouse fuel evaluation confirming the Manono Lithium and Tin Mission might have one of many lowest carbon footprints of any exhausting rock lithium mine on the planet.

“The DRC and Africa are strategically positioned to play a pivotal position within the international transition to wash power and decarbonisation and the Manono challenge will tremendously help to enhance the fortunes of the Congolese folks, which AVZ Minerals could be very supportive (of),” Ferguson commented.

Challenges to be overcome

There are lots of structural challenges to be overcome earlier than the DRC Battery Council can meet its objectives, not least of which is power and transport infrastructure.

The DRC presently operates underneath a big electrical energy deficit, the place as soon as it equipped extra power to its neighbours.

Secretary-Basic of EGC (Basic Cobalt Firm) and power skilled Vincent-Noël Vika Raissa Kikunda stated that overcoming this primary hurdle was paramount, and “the nation should make investments a billion {dollars} every year to hope to unravel its electrical energy drawback”.

Secretary-Basic Vika highlights that with out entry to financing and sovereign ensures, long-term power buy contracts might fill the hole.

DRC will even possible want a extra sturdy rail community, doubtlessly a big industrial port and higher integration of the native inhabitants into the electrical battery business.

The non-public sector shall be integral to the upskilling of DRC residents, a task AVZ Minerals is already engaged in.

The mining firm has plans to construct and fit-out a college at Manono, the native city adjoining to AVZ’s mining challenge, and likewise intends to attract on a big pool of intensive mining expertise within the type of domestically recruited on-the-job traineeships.

“Giving locals a chance to have a ability or a commerce and uplift themselves is one thing that is very near us,” Ferguson defined.

“The DRC is properly endowed with not solely pure mineral sources but additionally of their folks. There’s an extended historical past of mining within the nation and many individuals are very technically succesful.

“I am completely snug with the truth that there’s sufficient technical capability right here to have the ability to fulfil these roles.”  

Ferguson additionally highlighted a necessity for political stability and regulatory flexibility throughout higher Africa, usually cited as one of many main causes the continent might be dangerous to spend money on.

David McLachlan-Karr, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator of the UN in DRC, commented that the Congo has the capability to alter the distribution of advantages from the inexperienced mineral worth chains.

“Traders imagine on this challenge and are concerned. The work shall be very advanced, requiring a centered strategy,” McLachlan-Karr stated.

“Investing on this sector in DRC gained’t simply yield monetary returns, however shall be important for the worldwide reaching of the Paris settlement, and bettering lives in DRC.”

Source: Bojuri