By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Democratic Republic of Congo’s inspectorate of mines on Monday said it has created a paramilitary unit to secure mining sites and mineral supply chains, as it makes efforts to tackle smuggling and insecurity in the sector and boost investor confidence.
The programme will be funded by a $100 million budget under strategic partnerships with the United States and the United Arab Emirates, DRC’s General Inspectorate of Mines (IGM) said in a statement on Monday.
Congo, the world’s second‑largest copper supplier with major reserves of lithium, coltan and gold, is battling a Rwanda‑backed M23 rebel group in its mineral‑rich east.
The conflict has led to the killing of thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands.
DRC last year signed a minerals partnership with the U.S. to strengthen supply chains and security as Washington seeks to reduce China’s dominance in critical minerals in the African continent.
The IGM said the new paramilitary unit will be gradually deployed across Congo’s mining regions and is expected to have recruited over 20,000 personnel by the end of 2028.
A first contingent of between 2,500 and 3,000 is due to be operational from December 2026, following recruitment and six months of training in collaboration with the military.
“The will of the President of the Republic is to clean up the entire mining sector, by eliminating practices that run counter to good governance, transparency and the traceability of minerals,” the country’s inspector general of mines, Rafael Kabengele said.
Under the Congo‑U.S. minerals partnership, Virtus took over copper-cobalt miner Chemaf while other Western firms have expressed interest in mining assets, including in rebel‑held areas where insecurity has previously disrupted operations.
The mining guard will take over security duties currently carried out by defence forces. Its mandate will include securing mine sites, escorting mineral shipments from extraction areas to processing facilities and border posts, and safeguarding investments, the statement said.
The initiative is expected to strengthen investor confidence and improve state oversight of mineral production, officials said.
