Subsidiaries of Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines received new operating permits in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2023, but nearby community members who had to make way for the mines say they were not consulted and had no influence in the process. “When a company obtains a permit, it only discusses it with a particular landowner without taking into account the opinions of the villagers who live in the area. We know that conditions are often stipulated for mining companies, but we know nothing about them or their content,” said Mulema Bantu, a village chief whose people had to move from their land to make way for Kengere Mining near Kolwezi, an important mining centre for copper and cobalt in southeast DRC. Kengere Mining is a subsidiary of Ivanhoe Mines and is registered as a private company in the DRC. On April 16 2023 it was granted an exploitation permit to operate a copper mine of 38 square kilometres that will expire on April 15 2028. Another Ivanhoe subsidiary, Makoko SA, was granted four connecting exploitation permits for copper on April 16 2023. All four permits cover an area of 424 square kilometres and will expire on April 15 2048.

According to testimonies collected on the ground in and around Kengere, outsiders are now taking control of negotiations with the company. The communities who used to live in the village simply have to accept the deals after the fact. The Congolese Mining Code of 2002, as amended in 2018, makes consultation with local communities mandatory when a mining concession moves from exploration to exploitation or operating permit. Neighboring communities must also be consulted before any renewal or extension of exploitation permits.

Business and Human Rights Resource Centre reached out to the company for a response. The company did not respond.