DRC: Cutting the Hydra Head of Illegal Mining

This briefing by the Institute for Security Studies argues that while illegal mining is a pervasive aspect of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it is a manifestation rather than a root cause. The author contends that focusing solely on regulating the mining sector—through measures like the DRC's 2010-2011 mining ban or the US Dodd-Frank Act—without addressing underlying issues of governance, land, and ethnicity is insufficient for achieving sustainable peace.

• Illegal mining in the Eastern DRC is a pervasive element of the conflict that sustains illegal armed groups through profiteering, but it is considered a secondary cause that exacerbates primary drivers such as ethnicity, power, governance, and land.
• A five-month ban on mining in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Maniema (from 10 September 2010 to 10 March 2011) was largely ineffective and caused negative socio-economic impacts, including the displacement of workers to urban areas and a decline in popularity for President Joseph Kabila.
• The US Dodd-Frank Act requires US companies to certify that minerals from the DRC or Central Africa are conflict-free; however, this may lead to economic losses for the DRC or an increase in mineral smuggling to bypass traceability requirements.
• To address the root cause of governance, the author suggests revisiting the decentralisation agenda to localise governance and increase remittances to provinces, which could improve infrastructure and social services in Eastern DRC.

APA

Githaiga, N. (n.d.). DRC: Cutting the Hydra Head of Illegal Mining. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/drc-cutting-the-hydra-head-of-illegal-mining

Chicago

Githaiga, Nyambura. DRC: Cutting the Hydra Head of Illegal Mining. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/drc-cutting-the-hydra-head-of-illegal-mining.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Githaiga |first1=Nyambura |title=DRC: Cutting the Hydra Head of Illegal Mining |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/drc-cutting-the-hydra-head-of-illegal-mining |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{githaiganddrc, author = {Githaiga, Nyambura}, title = {{DRC: Cutting the Hydra Head of Illegal Mining}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/drc-cutting-the-hydra-head-of-illegal-mining}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }