Congo’s $6 Billion China Mining Deal ‘Unconscionable,’ Draft Report

Congo’s $6 Billion China Mining Deal ‘Unconscionable,’ Draft Report
A copper and cobalt mine run by Sicomines is seen in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on May 30, 2015. Aaron Ross/Reuters, File Photo
Reuters
Updated:

DAKAR—The Democratic Republic of the Congo should renegotiate its $6 billion infrastructure-for-minerals deal with Chinese investors, according to the draft of a report commissioned by a global anti-corruption body of governments, companies, and activists.

The draft, seen by Reuters, describes the deal that was first signed in 2008 as “unconscionable” and urges Congo’s government to cancel an amendment signed secretly in 2017 that sped up payments to Chinese mining investors and slowed reimbursements of investment in infrastructure.