Artisanal cobalt mining is legal in the DRC within the country's formal ASM framework. The law permits artisanal mining in designated Zones d'Exploitation Artisanale (ZEA). Outside those designated zones, artisanal mining is not legally permitted, though enforcement of that boundary is uneven across Lualaba province where most cobalt ASM takes place.
Legal framework
The DRC Mining Code establishes artisanal mining as a legitimate activity within ZEA boundaries. CAMI designates ZEA and publishes a list of active zones. SAEMAPE — the government agency for artisanal and small-scale mining — is responsible for supervising artisanal activity, providing technical support to miners, and reporting production volumes to the relevant government accounts.
An artisanal miner operating in a legally designated ZEA is acting within the law, subject to paying the applicable per-unit mineral tax and complying with any conditions attached to the zone designation. Child labour in mines is prohibited under DRC law regardless of whether activity occurs in a ZEA.
Why compliance is uneven
The gap between legal framework and field reality stems from several factors. The number of officially designated ZEA is smaller than the number of locations where artisanal mining actually occurs. Enforcement capacity — SAEMAPE staffing and resources — is insufficient relative to the geographic spread of activity. Mining on industrial concession boundaries (where ASM is not permitted) occurs without consistent penalty.
Child labour at surface ore-sorting and trading operations adjacent to ASM sites has been documented by UNICEF, Amnesty International, and Pact regardless of whether the extraction itself is in a legal ZEA.
