Fighting windmills in Eastern Congo? The ambiguous impact of the ‘conflict minerals’ movement

• Most artisanal mining sites in the Eastern DRC awaiting due diligence schemes.
• In three of iTSCi’s four ‘clean areas’, mineral prices have stagnated or decreased.
• ITRI’s scheme is yet to prevent untagged minerals from entering the circuit.
• Static validation process to identify ‘clean sites’ lacks reliability over time.

The artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently undergoing rapid reform of its governance structure as a result of multiple national, regional and international policies and initiatives designed to sever the direct link between minerals and conflict in the region. We briefly review the theoretical context behind and major policies outcomes of this reform process, and offer an initial assessment of its operationalization. We conclude that the ‘conflict minerals’ approach is at a critical juncture, caught between the need to deliver a reliable and viable response and the reality of delivering new modes of disarticulation and dispossession. To contribute to the former scenario, recommendations for the focus of future scholarship are provided.