The EU Critical Raw Materials Act: Handshakes, extracting, processing and recycling. Why not reducing and prioritizing?
November 7, 2023The European continent struggles with the dilemma to secure its raw material supply chain for the sake of its green transition and energy sovereignty, at the cost of more pollution, ecosystem destruction and handshakes with undemocratic resource-rich countries. The Critical Raw Materials Act (CRM Act) proposes a strategy to secure a sustainable supply of critical raw materials, and is currently ne
Mapping of artisanal mining sites in western Mambasa, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
October 27, 2023The western part of Mambasa territory, in Ituri province, has been overlooked by national authorities and international partners. This despite major expansions of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASM) operations, including in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (OWR). These mining operations have caused tensions between native inhabitants, miners, armed actors, officials and conservationists. Se
Taxes and levies in the artisanal mining sites of South Kivu and Ituri: How much does an artisanal miner pay?
April 14, 2023This report is the result of a large-scale field study on taxation in the artisanal mining sector in the eastern Congolese provinces of Ituri and South Kivu. The main finding is that current regulations and practices in the field not only cause mineral smuggling, which leaves some of the sector’s fiscal potential untapped at the provincial and national levels, but also constitute a source of insec
Critical minerals and the need for equal partnerships with African producers
April 12, 2023Before Western policymakers recognized the immense strategic importance of minerals for green energy production in the 21st century, it was primarily seen as the main source of conflicts in Africa, especially when they were extracted in the African Great Lakes Region.
A fault confessed is half redressed: Glencore pleads guilty
June 27, 2022IPIS Briefing – June 2022 On the 24th May 2022, the Justice Department of the United States announced that Glencore pleaded guilty for foreign briberies and Market Manipulation Schemes in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and had accepted a USD 1.1 billion settlement. The same day, Glencore Energy UK Limited also made public that it would plead guilty in the invest
Madini – Conflict analysis and stakeholder mapping in the mining regions of South Kivu and Ituri
August 20, 2021To ensure that the implementation of the Madini project fits the local context and positively impacts the local population, IPIS conducted a conflict sensitivity analysis in South Kivu and Ituri. The present study highlights that poor governance, along with chronic poverty, are structural causes of violence in mining regions, whereas the presence o
IPIS Briefing June/July 2021 – War on Terror in Eastern Congo? The fear of international observers
August 6, 2021The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: War on Terror in Eastern Congo? The fear of international observers. In the news: Tensions rise over definition of conflict diam
IPIS Due Diligence series – Comparative analysis between cobalt and 3T sourcing from the DRC
July 26, 2021This report compares the supply chains and traceability of 3T and cobalt ores in order to identify similarities, differences, and lessons learned from the decade of 3T experience in responsible sourcing, for the emerging cobalt initiatives. The experience of regulating responsible sourcing in the 3T sector has taught us the importance of engaging producing countries from the start of the draftin
IPIS Briefing May 2021 – Reducing the carbon footprint at the expense of a mineral footprint?
June 1, 2021The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: Reducing the carbon footprint at the expense of a mineral footprint? In the news: Ethiopia Tigray crisis – Warnings of genocide
IPIS Insights -The artisanal and small scale mining sector in eastern DRC six months after the Covid-19 outbreak
April 19, 2021In April 2020, when the Coronavirus spread around the world, IPIS started monitoring the impact of the pandemic on the production and trade of the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). IPIS published a report in October 2020 that discussed the results of several rounds of consultations with ASM stakeholders at nearly 90 Tin, Tantalum, Tung
IPIS Briefing February 2021 – CAR: Former enemies unite to oust re-elected President
March 4, 2021The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: CAR – Former enemies unite to oust re-elected President. In the news: L’ambassadeur d’Italie victime d’une paix introuvable dans
Promoting peaceful and seasonal migration in Northern Central African Republic
February 9, 2021“You can negotiate with an armed group, not with the drought” The borderlands of the Central African Republic (CAR) are home to one of the largest seasonal livestock migrations (transhumance) in the world. Decades of unrest and crisis, however, have brutally disrupted most aspects of herding—the routes taken, the people involved, governance mechanisms, as well as relations to local populations. To
The impact of Covid-19 on the artisanal mining sector in eastern DRC
October 14, 2020As Covid-19 spreads around the world, artisanal mining communities experience once more how much their livelihoods depend on the global economy. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, IPIS has closely monitored its impact on 3T, gold and diamond mining and trade in the DRC.
IPIS Briefing June 2020 – Impact of Covid-19 on artisanal miners in DR Congo
July 16, 2020The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: Impact of Covid-19 on artisanal miners in DR Congo In the news: Clean gold – How Switzerland could set new supply chain standar
How much does a miner earn? Assessment of miner’s revenue; basic needs study in the DRC
May 7, 2020How much does a miner earn in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)? Can a miner’s family cover its basic needs? In a new report, IPIS and Levin Sources compare the income of miners and their basic needs expenditures, to provide a better and nuanced understanding of why ASM communities seem to remain extremely poor and identify the factors that impact their income. This report is the first to fin
Mapping artisanal mining sites in the Western Central African Republic (2019)
April 7, 2020This report presents an analysis of the artisanal mining sector in western Central African Republic (CAR) and outlines some of the challenges surrounding gold and diamond mining, trade and export. From April to July 2019, the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), in partnership with national authorities, carried out a mapping of artisanal mining sites in western CAR. A total of 322 sites
IPIS Briefing March 2020 – Cobalt: Concerns over Child Labour in Artisanal Mining should not overshadow the corruption in Large Scale Mining
April 6, 2020The IPIS briefing offers a selection of articles, news and updates on natural resources, armed conflict, Business & Human Rights and arms trade. Every month, an editorial and related publications shed a light on a specific topic in IPIS’ areas of research. In focus: Cobalt – Concerns over Child Labour in Artisanal Mining Should Not Overshadow the Corruption in Large Scale Mining. In the news:
Capacity Building for a Responsible Minerals Trade
December 20, 2018With the support of the Capacity Building for Responsible Minerals Trade, IPIS developed and implemented a methodology aimed at assessing the responsible sourcing potential of gold mining areas in South-Kivu. IPIS conducted field missions in seven gold trading hubs and their surrounding mines in South-Kivu: Shabunda centre (Shabunda territory), Katchungu (Shabunda territory), Mapimo (Shabunda terr
Ground-based incident reporting in Eastern DRC – Progress Report 1
July 23, 2018In January 2018, IPIS and its partner CEGEMI (a Bukavu-based research institute) launched a two-year project founded by EPRM to advance incident reporting and community participation in responsible sourcing through cooperative and CSO capacity enhancement in Eastern DR Congo gold sector. “First field visit to identify potential cooperative to be part of project activities.” Copyright: Gabriel KAMU
Artisanal Gold Monitoring Pilot (2017)
October 17, 2017With the support of the Public Private Alliance for Responsible Minerals Trade (PPA), IPIS set up its Artisanal Gold Monitoring Pilot in Mambasa (Ituri Province, DRC) between April 2016 and July 2017. This involved developing a low-cost methodology to produce a continuous data flow on a wide range of indicators related to the operational, security and human rights context of artisanal gold mining.
