DRC Shuts Glencore Copper Offices Amid Tax Dispute

Congolese tax authorities sealed the local offices of Glencore's (LSE:GLEN,OTCPL:GLCNF) Kamoto Copper subsidiary last Thursday (July 9) over a multibillion-dollar payment dispute, Bloomberg reported.

The government tax agency, known as the DGI, shut the Kolwezi offices after settlement talks between the state and the Swiss commodity trader collapsed.

A Glencore spokesperson stated the company disputes the DGI’s claims and continues to engage with authorities. The raid did not disrupt physical mining or processing operations at the Kamoto complex.

The escalation triggered direct intervention from the highest level of the DRC’s government. During a cabinet meeting on Friday (July 10), President Felix Tshisekedi instructed the finance and mining ministries, along with revenue agencies, to stop executing unpredictable bank account seizures and asset freezes.

“Our ambition remains to build a competitive, transparent mining sector that creates sustainable value. That requires a stable legal environment, predictable administrative decisions and permanent dialogue between the state and economic operators,” Tshisekedi reportedly told the cabinet.

Authorities were also ordered to prioritize legal dialogue and conciliation mechanisms over office raids. In a separate directive, the president commanded the immediate removal of soldiers and police officers stationed illegally at mining sites.

Glencore holds a 70 percent stake in Kamoto, while the Congolese government and a state-owned enterprise control the remaining 30 percent.

The site ranks as one of the largest production hubs in the DRC, the world’s second-largest copper producer and top cobalt supplier. Kamoto outputted roughly 190,000 tons of copper last year and targets an annual capacity of 300,000 tons.

In February, Orion CMC announced a preliminary deal to acquire 40 percent of Glencore’s interest in the site, a transaction that remains pending.

With the tax authorities' intervention, DRC continues its interventionist campaign to control critical mineral flows and capture higher revenues.

Late last month, the Authority for the Regulation and Control of Strategic Mineral Substances' Markets (ARECOMS) ordered cobalt producers to forfeit all export quotas left unused by a June 30 deadline.

The government immediately transferred the seized volumes into a strategic national reserve to feed domestic processing hubs. The mandate enforces a strict quota system Kinshasa implemented last October following a devastating price collapse.

Glencore, which controls roughly 3,925 metric tons of that allocation, reportedly secured a temporary extension earlier this year due to logistical bottlenecks.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.