• An audit by DRC’s Court of Accounts found a $16.8 billion shortfall in mining revenues between 2018 and 2023 due to under-reporting.
• Prosecutor General Jean Chris Mubanga Musuyu said “70% of companies did not comply” with the 2018 Mining Code.
• Companies cited include CMOC Group, Glencore, Ivanhoe Mines, Eurasian Resources Group and Ruashi Mining, allegedly under-reporting $10 billion collectively.

In May 2025, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) announced the creation of an ad hoc commission to audit the state’s mining assets. The initiative, whose details have not yet been clarified, comes about seven years after the adoption of the country’s revised Mining Code in 2018.

According to Reuters, citing an audit by the Court of Accounts, mining companies operating in the DRC underreported $16.8 billion in revenues between 2018 and 2023. Figures confirmed by a document previously reviewed by our newsroom in June 2025 reflect a difference in accounting bases rather than a direct loss. The Court identifies a discrepancy between the amounts declared to the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI) and those reported to the Community Development Funds established under the Mining Code.

In other words, the report highlights a reporting gap that affects the calculation of the mandatory 0.3% community contribution required of mining companies.

Specifically, mining firms declared $81.4 billion to the community funds, compared with $98.2 billion reported to the DGI. “This discrepancy results in a loss of $50 million for the 0.3% allocation due to the specialized development entities,” the report notes.

According to Bankable, which also analyzed the same audit, the loss to local communities amounts to roughly $198 million over the same period when including instances of partial payments, underreporting, or non-payment of the mandatory 0.3% community contribution.

The report cites several major companies, including Kamoa Copper (Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining), Kamoto Copper Company (Glencore), Sicomines (Crec-Sinohydro-Zhejiang), and Tenke Fungurume Mining (CMOC). The Court of Accounts recommends that the government suspend non-compliant companies and initiate legal proceedings.

Three months after the report’s publication, the Congolese government has yet to issue an official response, and the companies mentioned have not commented publicly. When the ad hoc audit commission was established, its stated goal was “to assess the governance of the entities concerned, propose corrective mechanisms, and improve the structure of the state’s participation in the mining sector.”

The DRC, the world’s leading cobalt producer, overhauled its mining framework in 2018 through a new Mining Code. Key changes included raising the state’s free equity stake in projects to 10% (up from 5% under the 2002 code), increasing royalty rates—from 2% to 3.5% for copper and cobalt—and introducing the mandatory 0.3% community development contribution based on companies’ annual turnover.

While the DRC awaits further developments, a similar situation unfolded in Mali, where a mining audit uncovered unpaid revenues valued between 300 and 600 billion CFA francs. The Malian government has since recovered part of those funds through settlements, though a dispute remains ongoing with Barrick Gold, operator of the Loulo-Gounkoto mine, the country’s largest gold project.

This article was initially published in French by Aurel Sèdjro Houenou

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum