As hundreds of mining executives and government officials gather this week in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, for DRC Mining Week, new field research reveals that mine workers in the country’s industrial copper and cobalt operations remain trapped in poverty and face systematic labour rights abuses – despite growing global demand for critical minerals to power the green energy transition.

The new research by UK corporate watchdog RAID and Kolwezi-based Centre d’Aide Juridico-Judiciaire (CAJJ) is based on interviews with over 30 workers across six major mining operations, and follows on from in-depth research conducted in 2021 which exposed widespread exploitation of Congolese workers.

The updated research reveals that widespread labour rights abuses continue, particularly for subcontracted workers who make up the majority of the labour force, including:

• Wages well below the Kolwezi living wage, leaving workers unable to afford food or education for their children;
• Unsafe conditions and inadequate healthcare, with some workers reporting exposure to toxic substances and being denied treatment after accidents;
• Gruelling shifts and excessive hours, with some workers on back-to-back shifts for 30 days straight;
• Union suppression and discrimination, including sexual misconduct, racial abuse, and retaliation against workers who try to organise.

The mining operations included in the study are Glencore’s Kamoto Copper Company (KCC), Eurasian Resources Group’s Metalkol RTR, China Molybdenum’s Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), China Nonferrous Metal Mining Company’s Somidez mine, Zijin Mining Group’s COMMUS mine and Sicomines, the joint venture between Gécamines and a consortium of Chinese companies and investors...

One worker involved in ore processing at a large-scale mine said he and others are routinely exposed to toxic substances...Many subcontracted workers spoke of their despair, trapped in exploitative conditions with no other job options...

“Global demand for Congo’s minerals is soaring, and so are corporate profits,” said RAID’s Executive Director, Anneke Van Woudenberg. “There is no excuse for Congolese mine workers to be living in poverty or coughing up blood in unsafe mines. Paying a living wage and upholding basic rights is not charity – it’s a test of whether the transition to green energy will be just and fair.”...

In January and February 2025, RAID and CAJJ conducted a follow-up investigation into working conditions at some of DR Congo’s largest industrial copper and cobalt mines. This new research builds on our 2021 Road to Ruin report, which exposed widespread labour abuses, hazardous work environments, and stark disparities between directly employed and subcontracted workers.

Four years on, our findings show that labour rights violations remain deeply entrenched. While some directly employed workers have seen modest improvements, such as collective agreements which have increased wages and conditions, subcontracted workers continue to endure exploitative conditions. These include unsafe workplaces, exploitative wages, excessive working hours, inadequate or non-existent healthcare, suppression of union activity, discrimination and even physical mistreatment...