The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has entered a new phase of oversight for its infrastructure-for-minerals cooperation program with Chinese companies through a technical and financial audit, the Regulatory Agency for the Monitoring and Coordination of Collaboration Agreements (APCSC) announced on March 5, 2026.
The audit will cover the program’s implementation from its launch in April 2008 to the most recent amendment in March 2024. The Chinese consortium involved includes China Railway, Sinohydro, and Zhejiang Huayou, operating through the Sino-Congolese Mines joint venture, Sicomines (SCM). The consortium holds a 68% stake, while the state-owned mining company Gécamines owns 32%. Sicomines is responsible for developing copper and cobalt at Mutshatsha in Lualaba province, with revenues intended to fund infrastructure projects.
The audit has been assigned to the ATF-PCSC/Mayer Brown consortium, with SRK Consulting responsible for certifying mineral resources. The review will examine mining operations, financial management, legal compliance, infrastructure projects, and environmental and sustainability practices. APCSC said the findings will provide recommendations to improve governance and performance.
Since 2008, the program has faced criticism over transparency, loan management, project selection, and potential inflated construction costs. According to the March 2024 amendment, $1.5 billion had been borrowed for infrastructure, including previously undisbursed funds and costs agreed by the parties. AidData reported that Sicomines also granted $82 million in loans to Gécamines, though interest rates were unspecified. Total debt contracted by Sicomines from 2008 to 2020 is estimated at nearly $9 billion, including loans from Eximbank China and shareholder loans from the Chinese consortium.
Production at the Sicomines mine began in 2015 and reached full capacity in 2024, exporting 246,000 tonnes of copper, though some defaults on loans have been reported. Revenues from mining are first used to repay loans, with remaining funds distributed as dividends. The 2024 amendment requires that royalties to Gécamines remain capped at 1.2% of turnover until all project-related loans are fully repaid, and that any new development decisions be based on the audit results, mineral resource certification, and an updated feasibility study.
The audit is expected to clarify actual debt levels, the allocation of revenues for loan repayment, and the execution of infrastructure projects, providing a more transparent view of the Sino-Congolese cooperation program after nearly two decades of operation.
