DRC signs landmark mining agreement with Swiss Firm ADEX Platform
The signing of a historic framework agreement between the Future Generations Mining Fund (FOMIN) and Swiss firm ADEX Platform AG reshapes the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining geopolitics.
The agreement, signed under the supervision of Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba, establishes the joint venture ADEX RDC S.A.
The initiative marks Kinshasa’s firm determination to restructure the diamond and coloured stones value chain, a sector historically weakened by smuggling and undervaluation.
A Presidential Vision
The reform directly stems from President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo’s strategic vision.
Since his election, the head of state committed to a systemic break with the classic rentier model that confined the country to passive raw material exporter status.
His resource governance policy, executed under Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka’s coordination, relies on pragmatic economic diplomacy: attracting international technological expertise while strictly preserving national sovereignty.
By imposing a joint venture with equal shares, the presidential vision dictates a co-development model meeting contemporary traceability requirements in global markets.
Restructuring for Development
The restructuring’s impact on national development promises to be multidimensional.
By locally integrating high-value activities, including establishing an international-standard cutting and jewellery facility and a direct commercialisation platform, the DRC shifts from an extraction economy to industrial transformation.
While Congo’s extractive sector generated $5.61 billion in public revenue in 2023, structurally dominated by copper-cobalt, formalising the diamond sector offers crucial budget diversification to finance basic infrastructure.
Beyond direct tax revenue for the treasury, this reform serves as a powerful vector for social progress.
It guarantees essential technology transfer and skilled job creation for youth. Above all, it cleans up and secures income for artisanal miners, who produced 8.1 million carats in 2025.
By establishing transparency as an absolute rule, the policy of Félix Tshisekedi removes diamonds from illicit circuits to make them a genuine lever for collective wealth. The DRC now asserts itself as an ethical and indispensable global supplier.
Jean-Robert TCHANDY
