Kwango Mines Loses 46 More Mining Titles in DRC

Kwango Mines has lost another 46 mining titles in the Democratic Republic of Congo following ministerial forfeiture orders signed on July 14, 2026, according to a list published by the country's Mining Cadastre (CAMI). Most of the affected titles are exploration permits, meaning much of the portfolio was still at the exploration stage.

The latest forfeitures bring the number of Kwango Mines titles affected by forfeiture orders since the start of 2026 to 93. Publicly available CAMI data does not specify the total surface area covered by the 46 newly affected titles. The number of permits therefore does not indicate the full geographic extent of the areas involved.

The latest orders follow an earlier round of forfeitures in May, when Kwango Mines lost 47 titles covering 5,282.5 km², or 6,218 mining squares. Those permits covered commodities including gold, diamonds and bauxite.

Grounds for Latest Orders Not Yet Clear

The May forfeitures followed proceedings related to annual surface rights. CAMI gave affected titleholders 45 days to provide proof of payment for amounts due for the 2026 financial year. Under those proceedings, titleholders that did not regularise their position within the required period risked having their mining rights withdrawn.

However, authorities have not publicly specified the grounds for each of the 46 forfeiture orders issued in July. It is therefore unclear whether the latest orders are related to annual surface rights or resulted from other circumstances. For Kwango Mines, the successive forfeitures reduce the number of exploration areas remaining in its portfolio.

DRC Continues to Recover Mining Areas

The forfeitures come as Congolese authorities continue efforts to review mining titles and recover areas that have returned to the public domain. CAMI says it has recovered more than 50,000 km² of mining areas since 2023. Once returned to the public domain, these areas can be made available again under procedures established by the country's Mining Code and decisions taken by the relevant authorities.

Separately, Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba said during the presentation of the second Suminwa government's first-year performance review that the digitisation of the mining system had enabled CAMI to recover nearly 3,000 km² of concessions that had returned to the public domain.

Before the latest forfeitures, public cadastral records linked Kwango Mines to permits across Kwango, Kwilu and Kongo Central provinces, including areas around Kenge, Popokabaka, Bagata, Luozi, Seke-Banza and Tshela.

With 93 mining titles affected by forfeiture orders since the beginning of 2026, Kwango Mines is among the companies most directly affected by the DRC's ongoing review and recovery of mining areas.