The DRC's industrial mining sector is operated by a concentrated group of companies. Six operators account for the majority of copper, cobalt, and gold output. For each operator, the relevant mines, commodities, provinces, and ownership structures are set out below, drawing on operator disclosures, CAMI permit records, and EITI data.
Glencore
Headquarters: Baar, Switzerland. Listed: LSE and JSE (GLEN).
DRC mines: Kamoto Copper Company (KCC), Mutanda Mining.
Province: Lualaba.
Primary metals: Copper, cobalt.
Ownership in DRC: KCC — Glencore ~75%, state participation ~25%. Mutanda — Glencore 100%.
Scale: Combined Mutanda + KCC positions Glencore as the largest cobalt producer by company in the DRC and globally by industrial mine output.
CMOC Group
Headquarters: Beijing, China. Listed: HKEX (2060.HK), SSE (603993.SH). DRC mines: Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), Kisanfu copper project (KFM).
Province: Lualaba.
Primary metals: Copper, cobalt.
Ownership: TFM — CMOC 80%, Gécamines 20%. KFM — CMOC 95%, Gécamines 5%. Scale: TFM is the DRC's highest single-mine copper output by most recent data and the world's largest single industrial cobalt source.
Ivanhoe Mines
Headquarters: Vancouver, Canada. Listed: TSX and JSE (IVN).
DRC mines: Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine, Kipushi Mine.
Provinces: Lualaba (Kamoa-Kakula), Haut-Katanga (Kipushi).
Primary metals: Copper (Kamoa-Kakula), zinc with copper-germanium-silver by-products (Kipushi).
Ownership: Kamoa-Kakula — Ivanhoe 39.6%, Zijin 39.6%, Crystal River 0.8%, DRC govt 20%. Kipushi — Ivanhoe 68%, Gécamines 32%.
Scale: Kamoa-Kakula is the DRC's fastest-growing copper operation and the largest undeveloped high-grade copper discovery in recorded mining history at the time of its development.
Zijin Mining Group
Headquarters: Longyan, China. Listed: HKEX and SSE.
DRC mines: Kamoa-Kakula (equal JV partner with Ivanhoe).
Province: Lualaba.
Primary metals: Copper.
Ownership: 39.6% of Kamoa Copper SA.
Scale: Through the Kamoa-Kakula JV, Zijin is the second-largest copper producer in the DRC by equity share of output.
Barrick Gold
Headquarters: Toronto, Canada. Listed: NYSE and TSX (GOLD).
DRC mines: Kibali Gold Mine (Haut-Uele).
Province: Haut-Uele.
Primary metals: Gold.
Ownership: Barrick 45% (operator), AngloGold Ashanti 45%, SOKIMO 10%. Scale: Kibali at approximately 750,000 ounces per year is the DRC's largest gold mine and one of the top ten gold mines globally.
AngloGold Ashanti
Headquarters: Denver, USA / Johannesburg, South Africa. Listed: NYSE and JSE (AU).
DRC mines: Kibali Gold Mine (equal JV with Barrick, non-operator).
Province: Haut-Uele.
Primary metals: Gold.
Ownership: 45% of Kibali Goldmines SA.
ERG (Eurasian Resources Group)
Headquarters: Luxembourg. Privately held.
DRC mines: BOSS Mining, Metalkol RTR.
Provinces: Lualaba (BOSS Mining), Haut-Katanga (Metalkol RTR).
Primary metals: Copper, cobalt (BOSS Mining oxide processing); cobalt from tailings reprocessing (Metalkol RTR).
Ownership: ERG is the beneficial owner through private holding structures. No public disclosure obligations apply. Scale: ERG's DRC cobalt output from Metalkol RTR tailings is meaningful in the national cobalt supply picture but less precisely documented than listed-company peers.
Gécamines
Headquarters: Lubumbashi, DRC. State-owned.
Role: Minority partner and royalty/dividend recipient across multiple operations including TFM (20%), KFM (5%), KCC (as part of the state block), Kipushi (32%), and others.
Not an operator: Gécamines does not manage any of the major producing mines at present. Its operational role is advisory and contractual.
Fiscal significance: Gécamines is the DRC state's vehicle for receiving equity distributions from the mining sector. EITI data documents dividend and fee payments received by Gécamines from JV partners.
CNMC — China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group
Headquarters: Beijing, China. State-owned enterprise.
DRC mines: DEZIWA copper-cobalt project (Lualaba province), minority interests in other operations.
Ownership: Majority DRC government / CNMC structure; terms not fully publicly disclosed.
Smaller and emerging operators
Several junior and mid-tier companies hold exploration or development-stage permits across Lualaba, Haut-Katanga, and eastern provinces. These include Canada-listed junior miners, Australian-listed exploration companies, and some Chinese-backed development vehicles that are in earlier-stage permitting or pre-feasibility work.
The CAMI permit register provides the most complete public record of all permit holders, from majors to juniors, for readers seeking to identify the full operator landscape across the country.
