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The Democratic Republic of Congo is creating an armed security force to guard mine sites and secure supply chains in the resource-rich country, as it deepens its minerals partnership with the US.
A statement released Monday by the General Inspectorate of Mines said the “Mining Guard” will cost $100mn to establish, comprise up to 20,000 troops by 2028 and will be backed by Washington and the United Arab Emirates, which both have growing commercial interests in the country’s mining sector.
In a statement on Tuesday, however, the US Embassy in the DR Congo said: “The US government is not funding paramilitary groups to guard mines.”
In an updated statement on Tuesday, the General Inspectorate of Mines said the plan was “part of a broader framework of co-operation and dialogue with several international partners, including within the context of relations with the US and the UAE.”
The DR Congo signed a comprehensive economic and security agreement with the US last year, as Washington bids to diversify its critical minerals sources away from China. The deal gives US companies and trading houses preferential access to mining resources.
However, progress on mining deals has been slow, partly because of the violent conflict in the country’s east, which has left mines in the hands of the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group.
Rafael Kabengele, inspector general of mines, said in a statement on Monday that the new unit would “clean up the entire mining sector in the DR Congo by eliminating practices contrary to good governance, transparency and mineral traceability”.
The DR Congo has become a focus for mining companies and investors as well as countries seeking to gain access to the African nation’s minerals.
A US government-backed consortium recently agreed to buy the copper and cobalt miner Chemaf in Katanga province, in a first big test of the partnership between the two nations. The Bill Gates- and Jeff Bezos-backed mining start-up KoBold Metals has also started a broad programme of lithium exploration in the country.
“A big part of driving investment in the DRC will require de-risking commercial assets. For investors to come in, and inject billions of dollars, particularly in greenfield assets, will require great confidence that the asset is protected,” said Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
Recruits to the unit will undergo an intensive six-month training programme and will be tasked with securing sites throughout the country’s 22 mining provinces as well as protecting cargoes being transported across the DR Congo.
The DR Congo has an existing mining police force, which will be largely replaced by the new group, according to people familiar with the plans. The new guard would “provide a reliable and stable security environment”, the inspectorate said.
The UAE has historically had a significant role in trading minerals mined in the DR Congo, including gold and other metals. The Abu Dhabi group International Resources Holdings is the majority owner of Alphamin, which operates the Bisie tin mine in North Kivu province.
The DR Congo was planning to grow a strategic reserve of certain metals, officials told the FT this month.
Despite cutting its funding for many UN peacekeeping programmes under the Trump administration, the US is still providing funds to the UN-backed Monusco force in the DR Congo.
