• Chinese-backed semi-industrial mining destroyed over 250 km of waterways in Haut-Uélé since 2020.
• PAX says miners operated illegally under cover of “cooperatives” with army and police protection.
• Local communities and the state treasury saw no benefits while ecological and social damage mounted.

Illegal gold mining involving Chinese nationals and Congolese partners has destroyed more than 250 kilometers of waterways in Haut-Uélé province in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since late 2020, according to Dutch NGO PAX. The report, published September 17, 2025, links the surge to a decade-long rally in global gold prices.

PAX based its findings on satellite imagery, site visits, official documents and interviews with civil society activists, victims and local authorities. It found that miners dug riverbeds and banks semi-industrially, day and night, with heavy machinery, creating channels up to 400 meters wide. In some areas, they diverted river courses and left chains of flooded pits, posing drowning risks.

No scientific studies have assessed health and environmental impacts. However, PAX warned that toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide, widely used in Congolese gold extraction, likely polluted rivers that flow into the Congo River, which runs through the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest. The report also cited deforestation from road construction to mining sites.

The NGO said operators worked under the cover of “artisanal mining cooperatives,” composed of Congolese nationals but backed technically and financially by Chinese partners. These entities, which operated under the protection of army and police members, lacked authorization under Congo’s mining code and ignored environmental and social safeguards.

PAX noted that few such cooperatives existed in Haut-Uélé before 2020. Instead, Chinese nationals partnered with groups imported from other provinces or newly created ones. Public data from Congo’s mining cadastre showed that mining often occurred in areas covered by industrial permits, not semi-industrial rights.

Local communities and the Treasury derive no benefit from the activities

Some permits were invalid when activities took place. While permit holders can lease concessions, such agreements must be officially registered, transparent and compliant with environmental regulations. PAX found no public evidence of legal leasing arrangements. Congo’s mining code prescribes 10 to 20 years in prison for fraud or plunder of mineral resources.

President Félix Tshisekedi called the operations “illicit” in August 2022 and ordered urgent action. He instructed the ministers of Interior, Mines and Justice to investigate and report back. However, subsequent cabinet records reviewed by PAX contained no evidence of follow-up, and illegal mining continued.

Despite likely large profits for operators, neither local communities nor the Congolese treasury benefited, as activities bypassed oversight and taxation. Local indigenous groups, known as the Mbuti, saw their fields destroyed without compensation and their livelihoods disrupted. Testimonies reported forced displacement of artisanal miners and reliance on polluted water for drinking and cooking.

Similar illegal Chinese-linked gold operations have been reported in South Kivu, Ituri and Tshopo provinces, often in conflict zones controlled by armed groups.

PAX urged Kinshasa to halt illegal semi-industrial gold mining nationwide, prosecute all actors regardless of rank or ties, and compensate affected populations. The NGO also called on China to hold its nationals accountable for their role in the DRC’s illegal gold sector.

Walid Kéfi