The Democratic Republic of the Congo created the Mining Fund for Future Generations (FOMIN) to turn some of its mineral wealth into lasting assets. Eight years after its establishment under the 2018 Mining Code, the fund has mobilized substantial resources and supported several projects. However, information on revenue, expenditure and investment remains incomplete. The challenge is therefore no longer simply collecting a share of royalties: FOMIN must account for their use and demonstrate measurable economic and social value.
The institution is central to a strategic question for the DRC. Copper, cobalt and gold generate substantial revenue, but deposits are exhaustible. An intergenerational fund is intended to convert some temporary income into capabilities lasting beyond extraction: geological knowledge, infrastructure, productive diversification or financial investments generating returns.
An ambitious mandate and gradual establishment
FOMIN was established by the revised 2018 Mining Code. Its mandate includes financing geological research, building an asset base and supporting investment linked to mining sector development and diversification. The fund receives a share of mining royalties, whose allocation has changed since its creation.
Operational establishment took time. The first leaders were not appointed until December 2021, after a transition in which the Mining Cadastre managed pending revenues. According to information cited in DRC Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative reports, $68 million was reportedly collected during this period. Thirty million was reportedly transferred to FOMIN, while $38 million remained unresolved. The report notes that supporting documents needed to verify the calculations and transfer were unavailable.
This longstanding gap does not, by itself, establish the final destination of the amounts concerned. It nevertheless illustrates the problem the fund must solve: without documented reconciliation of amounts due, revenues collected, transfers and balances, the public cannot assess the institution’s actual performance.
Substantial revenues and questions about disbursements
An analysis by the Centre for Research in Public Finance and Local Development (CREFDL), covering 2020–2025, estimates that FOMIN received $857 million. The center says $441 million was allocated to eleven projects and programs, leaving approximately $415 million unused within the scope examined. These figures provide a useful indication of scale, but must be presented as study findings rather than certified financial statements of the fund.
Available resources alone cannot determine the success of a savings fund. Rules governing project selection, feasibility studies, costs, schedules, beneficiaries and expected outcomes must be known. Amounts committed, actually disbursed and already converted into operational assets must also be distinguished. An amount announced for a prospecting program or a company stake does not automatically create lasting benefits.
CREFDL also identified discrepancies between certain expenditure attributed to the fund and public budget documents. These observations reinforce the need to publish reports tracking each project from approval to completion. For a public fund financed by mining revenues, traceability is not a formality: it determines the confidence of citizens, producing provinces and investors.
Investment must serve a long-term strategy
FOMIN has supported geological knowledge activities and participated in economic initiatives in the gold sector. These directions address real needs. Mapping can reduce uncertainty about resources and improve investment decisions. Formalizing artisanal gold can improve flow traceability and bring producers closer to official channels.
The link with the recent article on DRC Gold Trading’s banking service point should be clarified: that article concerned access to financial services and securing artisanal gold transactions in Kindu. This feature addresses FOMIN’s mandate, resources and accountability. The fund’s participation in certain entities may form part of the context, but must not blur the two topics or obscure their distinct indicators.
To turn these projects into lasting value, the fund should publish an accessible investment policy, selection criteria, concluded agreements, amounts disbursed and impact assessments. Outcomes could be measured through concrete indicators: new geological data made public, the share of contracts accessible to local businesses, jobs and skills created, additional tax revenue or net financial returns.
Transparency as a condition for credibility
A reform in 2023 reduced the share of mining royalties allocated to FOMIN from 10% to 8%. This change makes prioritizing uses even more necessary. The fund cannot indiscriminately finance every expenditure presented as beneficial to the sector. Its intergenerational mandate requires preserving capital and preventing exceptional revenues from being absorbed by spending without lasting benefits.
Parliamentary oversight, regular publication of accounts and independent audits can help clarify flows. Documents should reconcile royalties declared by companies, amounts received by administrations, transfers to the fund and payments made. A public project list, showing original and updated budgets, progress and results, would also distinguish commitments from achievements.
FOMIN is a potentially important instrument for making Congolese mineral wealth a driver of diversification. Its performance will nevertheless not be measured solely by the amount collected. Confidence will depend on its ability to publish verifiable figures, explain discrepancies and demonstrate that investments create assets benefiting the country beyond the lifespan of its mines.