DRC copper and cobalt mining pushes into Kolwezi homes

Copper and cobalt mining is pushing into residential areas of Kolwezi in the southern Democratic Republic of Congo, where residents say homes are being marked for relocation and artisanal miners dig beneath and beside houses.

Kolwezi sits on major deposits of copper and cobalt, metals used in electric batteries, defence technology and electrical networks. The DRC produces about 70 percent of global cobalt output.

In the Musonoi area, resident Chibang Kasump said artisanal miners now work below his yard on land within the Tondo Mining Company's concession. A local administrative official, Kazadi Roger, said houses in the area had been identified for relocation and that the mining company would provide compensation, though residents did not know when they would move.

Congolese mining law says land ownership does not give rights over minerals below the soil, but mining titles do not cancel occupants' rights to compensation if they are expropriated.

The report described open-pit mines and overlapping concessions advancing into neighbourhoods. It said dust, blasting and cracked houses have affected residents near industrial operations.

Artisanal miners said legal mining zones set aside for them were insufficient, leaving some to work in private concessions without authorisation. One local miners' representative, Sylvestre Petit-Petit, said concessions had already been granted across the area and that the state had not provided enough space for diggers.

China has invested in the DRC mining sector for two decades. The United States signed a strategic partnership deal with the Congolese government in December to support supplies for its high-tech industry.