World: mining governance in the DRC is the weakest of all the countries in the world 

Although it has significant reserves of raw materials in the world, the Democratic Republic of Congo is failing through its governance in this sector, observers from the NGO Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) report in a report published recently.

According to the 2021 Natural Resource Governance Index, the governance of the mining industry in 7 out of 13 countries is “ weak ” or “ insufficient ”.

Mining governance in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the weakest of all countries.

This governance, presented as the weakest of all, keeps local communities in the most total poverty despite the invaluable mineral wealth available to their respective communities.

According to this report, most government mining policies do not differ by type of mineral.

For example, the profit made by a
company that exploits a copper-cobalt ore cannot be distinguished between the two metals.

The corporation tax, applied to this profit, does not specifically concern cobalt. Similarly, with the exception of the specific treatment of cobalt, the environmental damage of the mine comes from the extraction of the ore. It is difficult to account for damage caused by copper and cobalt separately.

Most of the mining governance principles expressed in the Natural Resource Charter therefore apply to cobalt.

Due to the increasing demand and criticality of cobalt, adherence to these principles is even more important. However, few countries adhere to these principles.

At the same time, the differences between cobalt and the major metals described so far suggest that governments may need to treat cobalt mining differently in some important respects.