Mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo underreported $16.8 billion in revenue between 2018 and 2023, a state audit has revealed, reducing funds earmarked for local development, Reuters reported.

The Court of Auditors’ June report found that while firms reported $98.2 billion to tax authorities, only $81.4 billion was declared to community development funds. Under the DRC’s 2018 mining code, companies are required to contribute 0.3% of annual revenue to these funds, which support schools, clinics, and water systems in mining regions. The discrepancy led to $50.4 million in lost contributions.

Major operators implicated include CMOC, Glencore’s Kamoto Copper, Ivanhoe’s Kamoa-Kakula, SICOMINES, Eurasian Resources Group’s Metakol, and Ruashi Mining, which collectively underreported around $10 billion. Glencore said Kamoto Copper complied with the law, attributing the discrepancy to different interpretations of the legislation’s effective date. Other companies did not respond.

Attorney General Jean Chris Mubanga Musuyu said roughly 70% of companies failed to respect the regulation, describing the gap as “an enormous loss of earnings for the Congolese state.” The auditors recommended suspending non-compliant firms, enforcing revenue audits, and strengthening oversight.

Civil society organisations have long pushed for the 0.3% levy to be channelled directly to communities, bypassing central bureaucracy. “Mining should be a tool for uplift, not just extraction,” said Emmanuel Umpula Nkumba of Lubumbashi-based nonprofit AFREWATCH.