Haut-Uélé and Ituri: several foreign companies carry out artisanal mining under the cover of political and military authorities

The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations of Ituri and Haut-Uélé presented the results of its analyzes on the issue of artisanal and small-scale mining in these two provinces. It was during a restitution workshop organized on Thursday, September 01, 2022, in Kinshasa. 

This analysis has identified 3 persistent problems that are causing millions of US dollars to escape from the Congolese state, which are destroying the present and future generation. These include in particular:

– The stagnation of the formalization process of the artisanal mining sector; – Mining by foreigners, most of whom are Chinese subjects; – The occupation of more than 1/4 of the sites in Ituri by armed groups. 

The non-evolution of the process of formalization of the artisanal mining sector by complying with the legal texts at the national level and the regional and international agreements which define the framework for the exercise of this activity is the basis of several abuses. 

“We found that artisanal mining does not contribute to these provinces, local communities and the state. The consequence is that artisanal mining takes place in the informal sector, the basis of several consequences such as: malicious destruction of the environment, massive mining fraud, use of children and other ineligible persons in artisanal mining sites, there are permanent conflicts between industrial companies and artisanal miners. It is the lack of formalization that justifies this situation”, explains Jimmy Munguriek, member of the Executive Committee of the EITI-DRC.

Regarding mining by foreigners, civil society in Haut-Uélé and Ituri note that in practice, these foreigners ultimately have all the rights that are even denied to nationals. They operate artisanally, yet the law forbids it, their sites are inaccessible even to state services in the mining sector, their productions are never traced. 

“They wickedly and deeply destroy the environment without rehabilitating them. They seize absolute masters of the land properties of local communities which they dislodge without any form of trial, etc.”, denounces civil society.

Political and military authorities in the game

The Coalition of civil society organizations of Haut-Uélé and Ituri for the governance of natural resources finds it unimaginable that the country’s institutions say that they have not known this situation for all the years, including under the mandate of the ‘old regime.

“Because all these foreigners enter through the Congolese borders where all the state services are sufficiently established, they bring their machines through the Congolese customs who are supposed to know their destination and use. The fact of the persistence of this situation would not denote- there not complicity on several levels? and yet the DRC continues to be declared among the poor countries of the world”, denounces the civil society. 

However, in accordance with the provisions of articles 1st point 19 bis, 111 and 114 bis of the mining code and 233 sexies of the mining regulations, artisanal mining remains the exclusive prerogative of adult natural persons of Congolese nationality, holders of a mining card. valid artisanal miner and members of an approved mining cooperative. 

Therefore, civil society calls on the Governors of Haut-Uélé and Ituri to declare in accordance with article 6 of the mining code the areas occupied by foreigners as well as armed groups as areas prohibited for mining activities.