Mutanda mine

Katanga province is a geologic anomaly with rich copper deposits that are part of the Central African Copper Belt. Katanga produced 522,130 tonnes of copper and 101,000 tonnes of cobalt in 2012. About half of the global proven cobalt reserves are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and over half of the cobalt extracted in 2017 came from the DRC. Globally, most cobalt is used to manufacture lithium-ion batteries. Some estimates indicate a 5000% increase in electric vehicle manufacture between 2016 and 2030 to meet emission targets in the Paris Agreement. This has created a mining boom for cobalt, copper, and other minerals critical for manufacture of electric vehicle batteries. ==Resources and production==

In 2011, the mine produced over 63,700 tonnes of copper and over 7,900 tonnes of cobalt. The mine produced 199,000 tonnes of copper and 27,300 tonnes of cobalt in 2018. Facilities Facilities include a dense media separation concentrator and a hydrometallurgical plant for crushing, screening, milling, pre-leaching, leaching, clarification and SX/EW. Glencore made an investment of $650 million to develop this capacity. ==Impact==

At the end of 2010 MUMI was employing 930 people. In 2014–2015, an acidic water retention pond spilled into the Kando River. In 2017, another acid spill contaminated nearby fields. In 2017, a spill damaged farmers' fields, and Glencore refused to pay damages or to publish its reports detailing the nature of the spill. They reported that the spill was "a mixed solution of residue sludge composed of 50% solids". A woman who was sickened by the spill has also been refused compensation for medical bills, although the case was pending in 2018. == Ownership ==

Glencore acquired its initial 30% stake in the mine in June 2007 from Groupe Bazano. Secret sales of state assets By 2011, Glencore operated the mine and had a 40% stake through a 50% holding in Samref Congo Sprl, which in turn held 80% of Mutanda, with the state-owned Gécamines holding the other 20%. In 2011, Gécamines sold its shares to Rowny Assets Limited, a company associated with Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler. In 2017, Glencore paid $534 million to buy a 31% stake in Mutanda from Dan Gertler's Fleurette group. This deal valued the 31% stake at $922 million, since it also involved the settlement of several hundred million dollars of loans Fleurrette owed to Glencore. Glencore now claims 100% ownership of the Mutanda mine. Lawsuits In 2017, a Swiss watchdog organisation Public Eye filed a criminal complaint against Glencore following revelations in the Paradise Papers indicating that Glencore had loaned $45 million in shares to billionaire Dan Gertler in exchange for help securing an agreement with Gecamines to acquire Mutanda mine. In 2018, a Congolese-American businessman Charles Brown filed a lawsuit in Congolese court, claiming that he sold a 19.12% stake in Mutanda to Groupe Bazano under threat of violence on May 9, 2012. Glencore purchased Groupe Bazano's share in the mine two weeks later on May 22. Glencore denied this, saying Brown's stake was sold in 2004 and 2005. In May 2022, Glencore admitted to bribing government officials in several African countries including the DRC to secure "improper business advantages". In December, 2022 the company agreed to pay $180 million to the DRC to settle "all present and future claims arising from any alleged acts of corruption" during the period from 2007 to 2018. ==References==