Most of the DRC's large copper and cobalt mines are in Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces in the south. The country's principal gold mine, Kibali, is in the northeast, in Haut-Uele province. Artisanal gold and 3T mineral production (cassiterite, coltan, wolframite) is spread across eastern DRC, primarily North and South Kivu.
Southern copper-cobalt belt
The southern Copperbelt — stretching through Lualaba and Haut-Katanga — is where the DRC's largest mines by output are located. The region sits within the Central African Copperbelt geological system, which runs south into Zambia.
The major operating mines in this zone are:
Kamoa-Kakula — near Kolwezi, Lualaba province. Copper. Joint venture: Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining (39.6%), Crystal River Global (0.8%), DRC government (20%).
Tenke Fungurume / KFM — near Fungurume, Lualaba province. Copper and cobalt. CMOC Group (80%), Gécamines (20%).
Mutanda — Lualaba province. Copper and cobalt. Glencore 100%.
KCC (Kamoto Copper Company) — near Kolwezi, Lualaba province. Copper and cobalt. Glencore 75%.
Kipushi — Haut-Katanga province. Zinc, with copper, silver, and germanium by-products. Ivanhoe 68%, Gécamines
Kolwezi is the principal logistics hub for this cluster. The town sits at the centre of the most active copper-cobalt mining activity in the country and serves as the base for multiple operator offices and processing facilities.
Northeastern gold
Kibali is the DRC's only large-scale gold mine currently in industrial production. It sits in Haut-Uele province in the northeast, approximately 150 kilometres from the South Sudan border. The mine is operated by Barrick Gold (45% with management control) in partnership with AngloGold Ashanti (45%) and the Congolese state entity SOKIMO (10%). Kibali produced approximately 750,000 ounces of gold in 2023 and generates its own hydroelectric power to maintain operating continuity in a remote location.
Eastern 3T and artisanal zones
North Kivu, South Kivu, Maniema, Ituri, and Tanganyika provinces host the country's artisanal and small-scale production of cassiterite (tin), coltan (tantalum), and wolframite (tungsten), collectively called 3T minerals. Industrial-scale mine development in these provinces has been limited by security conditions, logistics, and land access constraints. The IPIS Research mapping database at ipisresearch.be documents artisanal mining site locations, operator types, and associated risk indicators across eastern DRC in detail not available from any government source.
Artisanal gold production also occurs at scale in the eastern provinces alongside the 3T minerals, though volume estimates vary widely given the informal nature of production and the cross-border movement of output through Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.
Quick mine reference
Province — Mine — Primary metal — Operator
Lualaba — Kamoa-Kakula — Copper — Ivanhoe / Zijin / DRC govt
Lualaba — Tenke Fungurume / KFM — Copper-cobalt — CMOC
Lualaba — Mutanda — Copper-cobalt — Glencore
Lualaba — KCC — Copper-cobalt — Glencore
Haut-Katanga — Kipushi — Zinc — Ivanhoe
Haut-Uele — Kibali — Gold — Barrick / AngloGold
North/South Kivu — Multiple ASM sites — 3T / gold — Artisanal
