How European banks are partly responsible for dirty mining in Congo
November 14 2025
3 minutes
In the village Muvunda, in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo, once clear river water flowed. Today that water is undrinkable. Since the arrival of the Kamoa-Kakula mine, one of the largest copper projects in the world, residents are struggling with polluted water, crops are failing and people are queuing for hours at the only working water well.
The situation is being closely monitored by our Congolese partner organization IBGDH, led by human rights advocate Donat KambolaHis team conducts field research, speaks to affected villagers, and defends their rights.
According to their research Is the mining company Kamoa Copper SA polluting drinking water? with heavy metals, it forces families to relocate and disrupts local agriculture.
But anyone who protests risks arrest. In April 2025, 72 residents arrested after a peaceful protest demanding fair compensation following their forced relocation. Two of them were seriously injured, one shot in the leg and the other in the neck. Twenty-seven of them were held captive for two months. Although Kamoa Copper claims to engage in dialogue with the community, in practice there is no proper complaints mechanism.
"There's no longer a framework for consultation," says a woman from Muvunda. "We've been abandoned. We're hungry and don't know who to turn to."
A mine full of contrasts
The Kamoa mine is a mega-project by the Canadian Ivanhoe Mines, the Chinese group Zijin Mining, and the Congolese government. In 2024, it generated more than $3 billion in revenue and is considered a one of the fastest growing copper mines in the world.
But that wealth doesn't translate into progress for the local population. On the contrary: communities are being displaced and their labor rights violated. And the water around the mine is according to research from the University of Lubumbashi heavily polluted containing copper, cobalt and lead – at concentrations far exceeding World Health Organization standards.
Those critical raw materials, such as copper, cobalt, lithium and graphite are nevertheless indispensable for the energy transition: they form the heart of batteries, electric cars, wind turbines and solar panels.
On the ground, we see that mining is still too often accompanied by social and ecological damage. The transition must accelerate, but it must be fair.
The money comes from Europe
A new international report from Oxfam, Fair Finance International and 11.11.11 shows that European – and also Belgian – banks and investors be partly responsible for that damage.
Between 2016 and 2024, European banks granted more than $69 billion in loans and services to mining companies active in the extraction of copper, cobalt, lithium and other so-called critical minerals.
BNP Paribas leads the way (including its Belgian branch BNP Paribas Fortis) and ING, good for respectively $12,8 billion and $7,6 billion financing. Both banks claim to invest sustainably, but in fact, they invest in mining projects that lead to human rights violations and environmental pollution. Their policies on the environment, human rights, and good governance (ESG criteria) score below 4 out of 10, according to the report.
Fair transition, not unfair mining
The world urgently needs to switch to renewable energy and abandon fossil fuels. But the way the minerals needed for this are extracted today is creating new inequalities.
That's why we ask 11.11.11, FairFin and Oxfam:
- A strong European framework that enforces sustainability, not weakening, including mandatory due diligence so that companies and investors are responsible for human, labor and environmental rights throughout their value chains.
- That banks should thoroughly strengthen their policies: systematically conduct due diligence, limit investments in risky projects and report transparently on where their money goes.
Activists and organizations such as Donat van 11.11.11-partner IBGDH Every day, they strive for justice for the affected communities in Congolese mining towns like Kolwezi and Muvunda. They document abuses, support residents in claiming their rights, and expose the realities behind the green transition – often in difficult circumstances.
Support Donat's work with a donation
The energy transition can only be truly green if it's also fair. Our partners, like IBGDH, are working towards this every day. Support their work with a donation to 11.11.11Together we build a livable planet for everyone.
