Ruashi Mining is a Chinese-controlled mining enterprise located in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In terms of the company’s shareholding structure, 75% is held by Ruashi Holdings, a company registered in South Africa and wholly owned by Metorex, a subsidiary of Jinchuan Group; the remaining 25% is held by Gécamines, the state-owned mining company of the DRC.
The company owns an open-pit copper-cobalt mine located 10 kilometers east of Lubumbashi and approximately 3.5 kilometers southeast of Lubumbashi International Airport. The mining area includes three open pits, along with supporting modern systems for crushing, grinding, leaching, extraction, electrowinning, and cobalt hydroxide production. The project’s designed production capacity is 45,000 tonnes of copper (copper cathodes), 5,000 tonnes of cobalt (in the form of cobalt hydroxide), and 100,000 tonnes of sulfuric acid per year.
Project development began in May 2005, and the Phase I mineral processing project was completed and put into operation in September 2006. Construction of the Phase II hydrometallurgical system started in March 2007 and commenced production in early 2008, featuring complete processes such as crushing, grinding, vat leaching, CCD counter-current washing, extraction, cobalt hydroxide production, and copper electrowinning, with supporting facilities including a sulfur-based acid plant, an emergency diesel power station, and a tailings storage facility. The mine utilizes open-pit mining, primarily targeting oxide ores, with a designed raw ore processing capacity of 120,000 tonnes per month. During the mining process, sulfide ores and low-grade ores are stockpiled separately for comprehensive utilization.
To address the challenge of insufficient supply of high-quality self-owned ores, the company completed the construction of magnetic flotation and roasting systems in 2021 and 2025 respectively, significantly enhancing the comprehensive utilization capability for low-grade oxide, sulfide, and mixed ores. This increased the annual ore processing capacity by 600,000 tonnes, effectively securing the raw material supply for the leaching system. At the same time, it enabled the company to sell concentrates, partially offsetting the fluctuations in copper cathode production caused by unstable power supply in the DRC, which is of great strategic importance for the company’s sustainable development.
Regarding the fulfillment of social responsibility, the company continuously carries out community assistance projects, focusing on improving drinking water supply in surrounding communities. By drilling wells in the Ruashi community, it ensures water for residents; it has also donated schools and built mortuaries for military and government hospitals. The company actively participates in the agricultural development of surrounding communities, planting nearly 500 hectares of maize; it supports the improvement of community power facilities by donating and installing transformers to facilitate electricity access; meanwhile, it regularly donates supplies to community orphanages.
Ruashi Mining is committed to becoming a first-class mining enterprise in the DRC with leading technology, standardized management, and a focus on sustainable development. In the future, under the strategic guidance of Jinchuan Group and Metorex, the company will focus its efforts on the following directions:
- Resource Security and Capacity Expansion: Based on the existing mine foundation, the company will continue to advance deep and peripheral prospecting and exploration to strive for increased resource reserves and extended mine service life. Simultaneously, it will further optimize the technical routes for mining, processing, and metallurgy, fully leveraging the efficiency of magnetic flotation and roasting systems to improve the comprehensive utilization rate of complex ores and stabilize as well as gradually increase copper and cobalt production capacity.
- Technological Innovation and Lean Production: Increase investment in technical research and development, and continuously reduce production costs while improving operational efficiency and product quality through process optimization, equipment upgrades, and lean management.
- Safety, Environmental Protection, and Compliant Operations: Adhere to the bottom line of safety and environmental protection, continue to consolidate the results of the ISO14001 environmental management system, and strictly implement the requirements of the Equator Principles and the DRC’s “Mining Code” and other laws and regulations. Dedicated to building a resource-saving and environment-friendly mine, achieving the coordination and unity of economic and ecological benefits.
- Local Integration and Social Contribution: Deepen strategic cooperation with Gécamines and other local partners, actively fulfill corporate social responsibilities, and continue to support community infrastructure improvement, education, medical development, and agricultural income growth. Promote the sustainable economic and social development of the DRC and serve as a model for friendly cooperation between China and the DRC.
Looking ahead, Ruashi Mining will adopt a more open and pragmatic attitude to actively respond to industry challenges, seize strategic opportunities from the growing demand for new energy materials, create continuous value for the Group, provide a development platform for employees, bring long-term well-being to communities, and contribute to building a closer China-DRC community with a shared future.
