DRC overview

Background

A familiar jurisdiction with the market, mining is a critical sector for the DRC economy: as one of the largest exporters of copper globally, and surpassed only by Chile, the country hosts some of the world’s largest deposits of diamonds, gold, copper and cobalt.

Operating environment

  • The New Mining Code of 2018 sets out specific obligations for obtaining and maintaining exploration and exploitation permits
  • Surface taxes and rights, corporate income taxes, royalties, taxes on dividends and interest rates, and taxes on wages
  • The corporate income tax rate is set at 30 per cent of profit
  • Royalties (i.e., specific mining tax) are due on the gross commercial value of all commercial products
  • Royalties become due at the exploitation phase and are payable once the goods leave the exploitation or processing site of the project
  • Royalties are rated at 3.5 per cent for copper
Pictured above: Matadi is the main river port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo