The theft began in the shadows of a seized mine, a brazen heist not of cash from a vault, but of raw wealth from the earth. According to company statements, rebels occupying the Twangiza gold mining concession in eastern Congo have systematically looted at least 500 kilograms of gold bullion—a haul worth approximately $70 million at current prices.
But the story of the Twangiza heist is more than a tale of criminal plunder. It is a stark microcosm of a wider, more devastating conflict, where the world’s hunger for critical minerals collides with a brutal local war, and where peace deals are viewed by some as little more than corporate land grabs dressed in diplomatic finery.
The mine, located in the restive South Kivu province, fell under the control of the M23 rebel group five months ago, after weeks of escalating violence. In a statement to Reuters, Twangiza Mining alleged that the pillage was an inside job, facilitated by its own employees.
“With the help of some employees, they transported the first batch of more than 50 kg of gold out in a very short time,” the company stated. “Since the occupation, they have obtained at least 500kg of gold and secretly transported it through underground channels.”
The scale of the loss is staggering. The company reports losing more than 100 kilograms of gold per month since May, alongside $5 million worth of equipment and materials. The operation was brought to a screeching halt on October 15, when a drone strike destroyed the mine’s power infrastructure, though responsibility for the attack remains murky. Twangiza has declared force majeure and plans to file formal complaints with Congolese authorities and international arbitration bodies.
A Conflict Fueled by Minerals
The M23, an ethnic Tutsi-led militia that the Congolese government and United Nations experts allege is backed by neighboring Rwanda, launched a major offensive early this year, seizing key cities including Goma and Bukavu. The human cost has been catastrophic. Congo’s government says more than 7,000 people were killed in eastern DRC in the first half of 2025 alone, a number that continues to climb.
Eastern Congo sits atop some of the world’s most coveted mineral deposits. The DRC is the planet’s largest producer of cobalt, a cornerstone of the electric vehicle revolution, Africa’s top copper exporter, and a major source of tantalum, tin, tungsten, and coltan—all essential for the global electronics in our pockets and homes.
This mineral wealth has long been both a curse and a prize, fueling a decades-long rivalry between Congo and Rwanda. The Twangiza gold is just the latest resource to be siphoned through what researchers and activists call a sophisticated smuggling network.
Behind the Façade of a Peace Deal
In June, a U.S.-led peace initiative between Rwanda and the DRC was signed with great fanfare, aiming to stabilize the region and, crucially, attract Western mining investment. But a new report released Tuesday by the California-based Oakland Institute suggests the deal is less about fostering peace and more about securing American access to Congolese minerals at the expense of Chinese rivals.
The study, titled “A Deal for Minerals, Not for Peace,” points to a historical precedent. It found that Rwanda’s tantalum exports to the U.S. rose 15-fold between 2013 and 2018, despite the country having limited domestic production capacity. This surge followed Washington’s decision to lift sanctions after the previous M23 rebellion was quelled in 2012.
The report argues that the latest agreement effectively legitimizes these smuggling routes through Rwanda while strengthening U.S.-backed infrastructure projects, primarily the $553 million Lobito Corridor.
“The peace deal is a strategic move to formalize a supply chain that has been operating in the shadows,” said Anuradha Mittal, Executive Director of the Oakland Institute. “It rewards bad behavior and institutionalizes a system that has bled Congo dry for years.”
The Lobito Corridor: A New Great Game?
The Lobito Corridor is a 1,700-kilometer railway stretching from Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito to the DRC’s mining hub of Kolwezi, with a planned extension into Zambia’s Copperbelt province. The U.S. has framed it as a strategic, high-standard alternative to Chinese-backed infrastructure across Africa.
However, the Oakland Institute report warns that the arrangement primarily enriches U.S. corporations and Rwandan elites, while leaving Congolese communities to absorb the environmental and human costs. It notes that several mining deals along the corridor are already being negotiated by U.S. firms, including some backed by high-profile billionaires like Bill Gates and figures with ties to the U.S. military and intelligence community.
“The Lobito Corridor is not being built for the benefit of Congolese people,” a Congolese civil society leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, told the AP. “It is a pipeline for our resources to be taken away, while the violence used to control those resources is ignored.”
Since the peace deal was signed in June, more than 1,000 civilians have been killed in continued fighting, raising profound doubts about its effectiveness. Furthermore, both Rwanda and Congo missed an August deadline to ratify the accord, each blaming the other for the delay. In a token gesture last week, both sides agreed to create a monitoring mechanism for an eventual ceasefire—a plan that remains on paper as the conflict rages.
A Cycle of Violence and Plunder
Back at the Twangiza mine, the story is one of immense loss. The $70 million in looted gold represents stolen revenue that could have funded schools, hospitals, and infrastructure in one of the world’s poorest nations. Instead, it is believed to be financing more weapons, more fighters, and more war.
The heist reveals a brutal truth: in eastern Congo, the lines between rebel militias, corporate interests, and international geopolitics are impossibly blurred. The gold smuggled out of Twangiza will find its way into global markets, the cobalt and copper from the region will power our technologies, and the cycle of violence will continue, fueled by a demand that shows no signs of abating.
As one displaced miner, now living in a crowded camp outside Bukavu, put it: “They fight for the ground beneath our feet. We are just the dust they kick up in the battle.”
For the people of Congo, the looting of Twangiza is not an isolated incident. It is the enduring story of their nation.
