PUBLICATION

Global Business Reports

AUTHORS

Catherine Howe, Carl-Johan Karlsson, Margarita Todorova

MACIG 2020 DRC Pre-Release Edition

June 19, 2019

The DRC is widely considered the most resource-rich country in the world, with vast deposits of copper, cobalt, zinc, iron and uranium in the south, diamonds in the west and gold in the north. It also constitutes one of the riskiest regions in Africa, with widespread corruption, tattered infrastructure and conflicts between dozens of armed groups. For investors, the choice to enter the DRC is a high-risk, high-reward dilemma where feasibility constantly hangs in the balance. The long-term implications of the new mining code are yet to be realized, and the predicted consequences of a mounting Chinese presence in the mining sector are ambiguous. Yet, with the recent election of a new president and the formation of a coalition government, the worst turbulence might be in the country’s rearview — opening the door for exploration and the expansion of existing projects. The price of cobalt, which has suffered a six-month downturn, is also expected to pick up in 2019 while new technologies contribute to safer, more sustainable and cost-efficient operations. In our special country report on the DRC, we provide a first-hand account of the country’s investor climate based on interviews with top-level executives, organizations and government officials.

RELATED INTERVIEWS MORE INTERVIEWS

After cementing its position as a logistics industry leader in the DRC for over six decades, Comexas Afrique is launching into a new phase of existence and undergoing a rebrand, which will introduce the world to a new name, ConnexAfrica.
Groupe Forrest is a completely family-owned company that has been operating in the DRC since 1922 without interruption.
International consulting company SRK discusses expectations for the future of the DRC’s mining industry.
KPMG draws on global experience and local expertise to help clients navigate the DRC’s complicated legislative framework.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

MACIG 2025 - Mining in Africa Country Investment Guide

It is said that mining is a patient industry. Current demand projections are not. Demand for minerals deemed ‘critical’ is set to increase almost fourfold by 2030, according to the UN. Demand for nickel, cobalt and lithium is predicted to double, triple and rise ten-fold, respectively, between 2022 and 2050. The world will need to mine more copper between 2018 and 2050 than it has mined throughout history. 2050 is also the deadline to curb emissions before reaching a point of ‘no return.’ The pace of mineral demand and the consequences of not meeting it force the industry to act fast and take more risks. Mining cannot afford to be a patient industry anymore. The scramble for supply drives miners back to geological credentials, and therefore to places like the African Central Copperbelt.

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