DRC: Haut-Uélé, only 13.4 million USD paid in mining royalties in two and a half years (report)

A total of 13,403,250.40 million US dollars were regularly paid to the public treasury of the Democratic Republic of Congo by mining companies operating in the province of Haut-Uélé between the year 2018 and the first half of the year 2020 .

With a single mining operator, the province of Haut-Uélé mobilized a total amount of 13.4 million US dollars in mining royalties in two and a half years.

This is what the 2018, 2019 and 1st Quarter 2020 Softened Report of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ITIE DRC) provides.

According to this report, during the year 2018, nothing was paid to the public treasury as mining royalties.

The first figures are to be found in 2019 with just 4,841,838.70 million USD.

In the first half of 2020, the only operator listed in the province of Haut-Uélé in this report, which is none other than the mining giant Kabali Gold Mines, paid an envelope of 8,561,411.70 million US dollars. This makes a total amount of 13,403,250.40 million USD paid.

By breaking down the payment made by the mining company Kibali Gold Mines according to the different operating sites, the EITI presents this breakdown as follows:

• In the Mari-Minza chiefdom, Kibali Gold Mines paid during this period a total amount of US$962,724.84;

• 550,128.48 USD were paid by the same company in the chiefdom of Dhongo;

• the chiefdom of Logo Doka benefited from 1,100,316.97 million US dollars;

• 8,589,566.19 million USD on behalf of the Kibali sector;

• US$825,192.71 paid by the Logo Ogambi chieftaincy mining operation;

• and finally the Mangbutu sector was able to contribute 1,375,321.21 million US dollars.

According to the explanations contained in this EITI report, the Province of Haut-Uélé contains significant deposits that were once the mining heritage of SOKIMO, a company 100% owned by the Government of the DRC whose concessions extended over the former territories of Watsa and Faradje.

As a reminder, Kibali Gold Mines is to date the only industrial mining project in the region. RANDGOLD RESOURCES is a 45% shareholder in the mine, on an equal footing with the South African ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI.

The Congolese state owns the remaining 10%, through the Société Minière de Kilo-Moto (SOKIMO).

Kibali Gold Mines carries out its mining operations in Watsa and Faradje Territories.

Its mining activities impact six (6) ETDs (Decentralized Territorial Entities) which are thus concerned by the sharing of the
15% share of the mining royalty. These are the Kibali and Mangbutu sectors as well as the chiefdoms of Logo-Doka, Mariminza, Logo-Ogambi and Dhongo.

It is since the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 that Kibali Gold Mines pays directly to the ETD beneficiaries of the 15% of the Mining Royalty (RM) the portion devolved to them in the bank accounts opened for this purpose.

This result marks the end of a long saga which saw the provincial authority confronting each other, which had granted itself the right to ensure centralized management of the 15% of the RM devolved to ETDs, civil society organizations, local leaders and ETDs.

In December 2019, Kibali Gold Mines pays the 15% share of the mining royalty placed in sequestration to these six ETDs according to the distribution key
set in the memorandum of understanding of August 19, 2019.

Since then, the Kibali company pays this portion of the funds according to the distribution key of this memorandum of understanding.

The Haut-Uélé Provincial Division of Mines receives 0.12% of the funds for services rendered to ETDs.