Louis Watum Kabamba, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Minister of Mines, signed a ministerial order on September 8, 2025, precisely defining the scope of "development and construction work" required to validate mining exploitation rights and permanent quarry authorizations.
Previously, the Mining Code and Regulations mandated that title holders commence work within fixed deadlines—one year for exploration permits and one to three years for exploitation authorizations—but failed to specify the exact nature of the required activities.
The new order addresses this ambiguity by providing a concrete definition of the activities that qualify a project as officially launched. The required activities must align with the planning detailed in the approved feasibility study and the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment. The text specifies that a title or quarry holder "must comply with the work planning contained in the approved feasibility study" to attest that work has commenced.
Article 1 of the decree defines development and construction work to include operations for accessing the deposit, preparatory work, extraction, hauling, storage, and setting up processing facilities. These activities also cover the construction of buildings and infrastructure directly related to mining operations.
Articles 5 and 6 further clarify recognized work types, encompassing surface infrastructure and site preparation such as overburden stripping, the construction of buildings, shafts, ramps, roads, camps, and electrical and hydraulic networks, as well as processing and transformation plants. Recognized underground work includes shaft sinking, installation of mining equipment, underground electrification, ventilation and dewatering systems, and crushing and loading stations. Preliminary work, as defined in Article 4, includes perimeter boundary marking, site security, and access road development.
Increased Surveillance and Deadline
This order is issued amid intensified scrutiny of inactive mining titles. On August 20, 2025, the Mining Cadastre (CAMI) published a list of 93 titles threatened with cancellation for failure to start work. Companies on the list included Tenke Fungurume Mining for two titles covering six squares in Lubudi (Lualaba) and Cimenterie de Lukala (Cilu) for one title covering five squares in Songolo (Kongo Central).
On September 5, 2025, CAMI granted the concerned title holders 45 days to present their defense and prove the effective start of operations. This deadline expires on October 20, 2025. After this date, companies that have not demonstrated the commencement of the defined work will face the forfeiture of their mining rights.
Forfeiture decisions are made by the Minister of Mines, and affected title holders have 30 days to file an administrative appeal. If no appeal is filed, the decision becomes final, and the relevant perimeters return to the state's public domain as Geological Research Zones (ZRG).
The signing of this decree is part of a broader push to reorganize the mining sector. Prior to Watum Kabamba’s appointment in August, a massive effort to clean up the cadastral register resulted in the release of 594 mining and quarry titles, representing 37,253 mining squares (31,648 sq km), making them available to new investors.
With over thirty years of mining experience, Minister Watum intends to continue this rationalization drive. By promoting modernized governance and enhancing sector attractiveness, he aims to establish a more stable and transparent investment climate.
Timothée Manoke
