State-owned enterprise DRC Gold Trading said it will continue its nationwide expansion after an annual performance review held on Jan. 9, 2025. The company plans to open a branch in Mbujimayi shortly and another in Kinshasa by the end of March 2026.

The strategy targets the establishment of 10 operational sites nationwide, with the aim of reaching annual artisanal gold volumes of 15 to 18 tonnes and generating more than $2 billion in export revenues.

DRC Gold Trading currently operates five branches, including one in Bukavu that has been inactive since AFC/M23 rebels seized the city in March 2025. Hitting the upper target of 18 tonnes will be challenging, given that the company has exported about 10 tonnes of artisanal gold since beginning operations in early 2023.

Another challenge is uncertainty over the contribution of the Bukavu branch this year. That branch alone accounted for more than 90% of legal artisanal gold exports between 2023 and 2024, with a monthly average of over 420 kg sourced from South Kivu in 2023.

The state-owned company has, however, opened a branch in Kindu, in Maniema province, partially offsetting the loss of revenue from South Kivu. With a monthly average of around 114 kg of artisanal gold exported, Maniema has become the country’s leading artisanal gold exporting province. By the end of the third quarter of 2025, it accounted for 34% of national artisanal gold exports, totaling 683.67 kg, according to data from the Mining Technical Coordination and Planning Unit.

Timothée Manoke