How to get a mining licence in the DRC

Obtaining a mining licence in the DRC is a procedural process governed by the 2018 Mining Code and administered by the Cadastre Minier (CAMI) in Kinshasa. The sequence runs from exploration permit to exploitation permit, with environmental certification as a prerequisite for the final step. This article explains the sequence. It is not a substitute for legal advice from counsel qualified in DRC mining law.

Which right comes first

A company that wants to mine in the DRC starts with a Permis de Recherche (PR). The PR grants the right to conduct geological exploration within a defined area and is a prerequisite for an exploitation permit over the same ground.

PR application is made to CAMI and requires: a valid corporate registration in the DRC (RCCM number); payment of the applicable surface fee; submission of a work programme with minimum expenditure commitments; and documentation of technical and financial capacity.

A PR is valid for five years, renewable twice for five-year periods. At each renewal, the permit holder must relinquish a portion of the permit area (25 percent at first renewal, 50 percent of the remaining area at second renewal) and demonstrate that minimum expenditure thresholds have been met.

CAMI process

CAMI is the single administrative window for mining right applications, renewals, transfers, and abandonments. The physical CAMI office is in Kinshasa. Provincial CAMI representations exist in some locations but primary processing occurs at the Kinshasa office.

The permit register is maintained digitally and accessible publicly at cadastreminier.cd. Permit applications follow a first-in-time priority rule — the first technically compliant applicant to file for a given grid block has priority over subsequent applicants. This means permit registration timing matters and early registration is advisable where ground is open.

Permit transfers — the sale or assignment of a PR or PE from one entity to another — require CAMI approval and payment of a transfer fee. CAMI has discretion to refuse transfers that do not comply with the Mining Code requirements. Transfers without CAMI approval are void under the Code.

Environmental certificate

The conversion of a PR to a PE requires an environmental certificate from the Ministry of the Environment, issued on the basis of a completed Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). The ESIA must be prepared by a qualified consultant, submitted to the Agence Congolaise de l'Environnement (ACE) for review, and validated before the certificate is issued.

The timeline for ESIA review is not fixed by the Code. In practice, review periods range from twelve months for straightforward projects to thirty-six months or more for complex operations in sensitive environments. Terms of reference for the ESIA should be agreed with ACE at the outset to reduce back-and-forth at the review stage.

Common mistakes

Four errors recur among operators attempting to progress mining rights in the DRC:

Underestimating ESIA timelines. Companies that treat the environmental certificate as a bureaucratic formality rather than a substantive process repeatedly experience PE issuance delays.

Failure to register properly with CAMI before competitor applications. The first-in-time rule means that open ground can be applied for by any party while a company is still in pre-application preparation.

Corporate structure errors. The DRC requires a locally registered operating company (Société par Actions à Responsabilité Limitée or SA structure under OHADA law) to hold the permit. Foreign parent structures holding permits directly are non-compliant.

Transfer approval gaps. Companies that agree commercial terms for permit sales and execute share purchase agreements without first obtaining CAMI transfer approval find the transfer unenforceable.