The internal conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has not yet affected copper production and transportation [SMM Analysis]

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Since the beginning of 2025, the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been escalating and affecting the production of metal resources. According to news reports, in January 2025, the anti-government armed group "M23 Movement" in the Democratic Republic of Congo intensified its offensive and formed a siege on Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern part of the country. On the 25th, the Congolese military announced that with the support of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Southern African Development Community (Southern African Development Community) peacekeeping force, government forces repelled the attack of the "M23 Movement" on Goma. On February 6, 2025, according to the Congolese News Agency (ACP), the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo issued an international arrest warrant for the leader of the rebel organization "Congo River Union" affiliated with the "M23 Movement", Nangang. On February 8, 2025 local time, the Eastern Community and Southern Community held a joint summit and issued a communiqu é calling on the Democratic Republic of Congo to cease the conflict. On February 15, 2025 local time, the anti-government armed group "M23 Movement" in the Democratic Republic of Congo announced that it had taken control of the Kavumu Airport in South Kivu Province. On February 16th local time, the "M23 Movement" invaded Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, the second largest city in the east. On February 16th, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced that the anti-government armed group "M23 Movement" had entered Bukavu, the second largest city in the eastern part of the country and the capital of South Kivu province. On February 18, local time, it was reported that the Burundi army, which was carrying out peacekeeping missions in South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and blocking the anti-government "M23 Movement", began to withdraw from the country after the "M23 Movement" occupied Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu Province.

Due to the escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has affected tin and tantalum mining areas, on March 13, 2025, Bisie mine operator Alphamine Resources announced that it has temporarily suspended operations at mines in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Bisie is the third largest tin mine in the world, with a tin concentrate production of 17.300 tons in 2024, accounting for approximately 6% of the global tin supply. Today, the prices of tin and tantalum directly rose.

From the graph, it can be seen that the conflict affected areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo are mainly located in the northern and eastern provinces, while the distribution of copper resource production is mainly on the southernmost edge of the copper mineralization belt in the southern provinces of Katanga and Lualaba. There is a significant gap between the war zone and the copper resource production area. At present, we have not heard of any conflict affecting copper mine production.

On the other hand, the resource exports of the Democratic Republic of Congo are mainly transported by railway directly to Angola, Dar es Salaam Port in Tanzania, and Durban Port in South Africa. The railway lines are mostly extended horizontally or southward and do not pass through the war zone in the north. At present, there is no news that the copper mine transportation line has been affected by the conflict.

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