More than four months after a wastewater spill from a mine in Lubumbashi, a city located in the DRC’s copper and cobalt belt, residents say they are still facing impacts from the pollution. The spill on Nov. 4, 2025, originating from the retention pond of the mining company Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM), a subsidiary of the Chinese giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Industry Co., Ltd., flooded several outlying neighborhoods and polluted local waterways. The incident led to an initial three-month suspension, requiring the repair of environmental damage and compensation for affected residents. However, to date, the government has not yet officially authorized the company to resume operations after the three-month suspension. Following the findings of the interministerial commission of inquiry into the environmental incident, released on Feb. 13, the government announced health assistance measures, treatment efforts as well as the launch of a compensation process for victims. However, public information remains limited regarding the concrete implementation of these compensation payments and the exact number of beneficiaries. Some residents fear they will not be included and highlight that they have continued to suffer damage to their crops, limited access to clean water and health impacts for the past several months. Mongabay visited three neighborhoods affected by the spill to gather on-the-ground accounts. When contacted by Mongabay for further information, the CDM and various representatives of the Haut-Katanga and national authorities did not respond. Crops in the Golf-les-Battants neighborhood According to residents who speak with Mongabay, in some community gardens, crops stopped…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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