On Nov. 4, 2025, an industrial effluents spill from Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM), a copper and cobalt plant, contaminated several neighborhoods in Lubumbashi, in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, affecting crops, access to drinking water and residents’ health.Months later, Mongabay visited three neighborhoods affected by the spill to gather on-the-ground accounts of continued impacts to crops, water and health.The government announced health assistance measures, treatment, the launch of a compensation process for victims and a collective settlement of $6 million.According to a human rights organization, the amount is insufficient given the health damage, and residents who speak to Mongabay say they fear they will not be included in compensation and health plans.
More than four months after a wastewater spill from a mine in Lubumbashi, a city located in the DRC’s copper and cobalt belt, residents say they are still facing impacts from the pollution. The spill on Nov. 4, 2025, originating from the retention pond of the mining company Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM), a subsidiary of the Chinese giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Industry Co., Ltd., flooded several outlying neighborhoods and polluted local waterways.
