This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
On Thursday, Congolese security forces evicted illegal miners from a copper and cobalt mine run by Glencore, sparking protests and clashes in the city of Kolwezi.
The move came a week after a landslide at the Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) concession, majority-owned by a Glencore subsidiary, killed 43 people and prompted a government pledge to remove the miners.
Glencore stated that Democratic Republic of Congo's army had been deployed to the area around KCC, and the company insisted that soldiers exercise restraint and respect human rights.
Earlier this week, the miners defied a deadline from the army to leave the mine, prompting fears of violent clashes and human rights abuses.
Emmanuel Umpula, director of African Resources Watch, said that after being evicted, some of the miners protested outside the governor's office in Kolwezi to demand a new concession to exploit cobalt and were dispersed by security forces.
Mike Lameki, a human rights activist in Kolwezi, reported that the miners marched on the governor's office around 7 am and were dispersed, leading to clashes in the Kasulo neighborhood.
Photos shared by Lameki showed shattered glass and supermarket items strewn across the floor.
Umpula and Lameki alleged that security forces had opened fire to disperse the protesters, but it was unclear if they had fired live rounds or rubber bullets.
Army and government officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Rights activists have criticized the planned expulsion, saying it would do nothing to address underlying factors, such as poverty and unemployment, that push people to brave dangerous conditions in mines.
Glencore estimates that about 2,000 illegal miners enter KCC every day.
On June 27, the army evicted thousands of miners from China Molybdenum's nearby Tenke Fungurume mine, with General John Numbi claiming that soldiers did not fire a single shot.
However, African Resources Watch said they did fire and cited local villagers as saying three people died from gunshot wounds.
Glencore's shares briefly tumbled 7 per cent last Thursday, underscoring foreign investors' exposure to illegal mining activity on their properties.
The government of Lualaba province estimates that 170,000 informal miners operate in the province, leading to frequent accidents.
Congo produces more than half the world's cobalt, a key component in electric car and other electronic batteries, but is one of the world's least developed countries, afflicted by corruption and conflict.
