The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is pushing for an audit of the country’s mining contracts with China, which it says heavily favour Beijing. Finance minister Nicholas Kazadi has alleged that these contracts were skewed in favour of Beijing and wants the tax obligations on these companies increased. “Sicomines, it seems, is not keen on paying the $200 million that the DRC is asking for after making huge profits,” Kazadi said, as quoted by the East African newspaper on April 8. “They have to pay…” In February 2023, the impoverished but mineral-rich nation called for an overhaul of a $6.2 billion mining deal with China. This followed President Felix Tshisekedi’s demand for a bigger share of the country’s vast mineral resources than that agreed upon by his predecessor. Sicomines is a mining company owned by both DRC (32%) and China with around 6.8 million tonnes in mineral reserves. It owns most of the 19 mines in the country.
