Mapping of artisanal mining sites in western Mambasa, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

October 27, 2023

The 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


Armed groups, territorial control, land disputes, and gold exploitation in Djugu, Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo

August 10, 2023

In late 2017, almost fifteen years after the end of the second Congo war, and after several years of relative peaceful coexistence, inter-communal tensions flared up once again in Ituri province, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In December 2017, isolated violent incidents between members of the Hema and Lendu communities provoked an escalation and heralded the beginning of a new cyc


Taxes and levies in the artisanal mining sites of South Kivu and Ituri: How much does an artisanal miner pay?

April 14, 2023

This 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


Impact of Covid-19

The impact of Covid-19 on the artisanal mining sector in eastern DRC

October 14, 2020

As 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.