Investigation ties Tenke Fungurume pollution to global EV supply chains

A new investigation has linked mining at CMOC Group's Tenke Fungurume operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo to serious pollution, health risks and community displacement near one of the world's largest copper-cobalt mines.

Much of the world's cobalt, critical for electric-vehicle batteries, is sourced from the DRC, with Chinese companies including CMOC dominating production at Tenke Fungurume and elsewhere in Katanga and Lualaba provinces. The report accused global automakers, including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Volkswagen, of using cobalt potentially tied to these practices. The manufacturers acknowledged the possibility of DRC-sourced cobalt entering their supply chains, with some saying they had begun reviews or audits in response to the findings.

A copper mine's cobalt problem

Tenke Fungurume is, first and foremost, one of the world's highest-grade copper-cobalt deposits, and CMOC has increasingly emphasised its copper output as it pursues a "dual-pillar" strategy alongside cobalt. But the mine's environmental and social footprint — dust, water contamination and the displacement of communities living near tailings and waste-rock facilities — has drawn sustained scrutiny precisely because cobalt, a byproduct of the same copper ore, feeds directly into consumer-facing battery and EV supply chains in a way that raw copper concentrate typically does not.

Reputational risk spreads down the chain

The findings illustrated how operational and environmental problems at a single Congolese mine can quickly become reputational liabilities for companies thousands of kilometres away that have no direct relationship with the operator. For CMOC, the reporting added to a difficult few months in the DRC that had already included a strike at Tenke Fungurume over pay and conditions, underscoring how the mine's social and environmental record was becoming as significant to its commercial standing as its production numbers. Automakers' promised audits, if acted upon, could eventually pressure CMOC and its peers to invest more heavily in tailings management, water treatment and community relocation programmes across the copperbelt. CMOC has pointed to its own sustainability reporting and compliance programmes in response to earlier criticism, but the scale of Tenke Fungurume's operations, among the largest copper-cobalt complexes on earth, means even modest per-tonne environmental costs can add up to significant cumulative impact on surrounding communities.

Sources

• Business Insider Africa: Chinese mining giant accused of poisoning Congo in toxic mine scandal linked to BMW, Mercedes, Peugeot, Volkswagen, 22 Mar 2026

Photo: The Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt mine complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mark Harkin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.