• President Félix Tshisekedi ordered the launch, within 30 days, of an audit covering the entire mining revenue chain, from physical shipments to foreign currency repatriation and public revenue collection.

• The DRC exported 3,100,234 tonnes of copper and around 220,000 tonnes of cobalt in 2024, with copper shipments rising further to 3,403,006.63 tonnes in 2025.

• In 2025, the Central Bank of Congo raised fines for failure to declare offshore accounts by more than 1,000%, according to an analysis by AKILI Consulting, and introduced new penalties targeting false declarations and shell company use.

The Democratic Republic of Congo wants to tighten oversight of mining exports, from the physical exit of cargoes through to the repatriation of foreign currency and the collection of public revenue. At the Council of Ministers held on Friday, April 24, President Félix Tshisekedi instructed the launch, within 30 days, of an audit covering the mining revenue chain.

The decision comes as exports from the sector continue to run at high levels. According to the Council's minutes, the DRC exported 3,100,234 tonnes of copper and around 220,000 tonnes of cobalt in 2024. In 2025, copper exports rose further to 3,403,006.63 tonnes.

For the executive, the issue therefore lies not on the production side but in the state's ability to actually capture the revenue generated. The minutes point to a weakness in the chain running from export to public collection, along with the non-repatriation of part of the foreign currency from mining.

Yet existing rules already frame the repatriation of export proceeds. The Central Bank of Congo's foreign exchange regulations require operators to domicile and track currency operations through approved banks, with the relevant public services involved in the information loop. The revised Mining Code also obliges mining title-holders to repatriate their export proceeds: during the amortization phase, operators can keep 40% abroad but must repatriate 60% to an account opened in the DRC; once the investment is amortized, the full amount must be repatriated.

Building on that framework, the Central Bank tightened sanctions in 2025 against mining and oil operators that failed to meet their foreign exchange obligations. According to an analysis by AKILI Consulting, fines for failure to declare offshore accounts rose by more than 1,000%, while new penalties target practices such as false declarations and the use of shell companies.

Strengthening the traceability chain

The new audit will cover two areas: compliance with export revenue repatriation obligations, and the governance of joint ventures and state mining assets. It will need to identify shortcomings, quantify uncollected revenue, and propose corrective measures.

The president also called for the finalization of the mandatory interconnection between the administrations and services involved in the mining chain, including OGEFREM, OCC, DGDA, the Central Bank of Congo, and commercial banks. The goal is to ensure that no export or import operation slips through an integrated traceability chain.

In the end, the authorities want to be able to follow a single flow from the logistics slip through to the payment of duties, the repatriation of foreign currency, and the actual collection of public revenue. The first conclusions of this work are expected by June 15, 2026, at the latest.

The reform ultimately aims to align the mining sector's performance with stronger public revenue mobilization and a consolidation of foreign exchange reserves, which the executive frames as a lever of monetary sovereignty.

Boaz Kabeya (Bankable)