Is China responsible for the illegal extraction of mineral resources by its companies in Africa?

By Jean Sovon and Vivian Wu

In African countries, Western powers such as the US, UK, Russia, and Canada, alongside Asian superpowers like India and China, have long been extracting African resources to take advantage of its rich mineral deposits and abundant resources.

Though there have been numerous agreements on the governmental level to protect Africa’s resource rights and sovereignty, foreign companies from these countries often find loopholes to exploit these agreements or subvert them altogether through illegal resource extraction.

There is a long tradition of artisanal mineral mining in Africa, an often-illegal practice where individuals or small groups of community members dig small-scale mines and extract resources by hand. Though this used to be common among low-income citizens and rural communities in Africa, illegal mining is no longer the domain of Africa's poor. Some cases that have attracted the most attention in recent years are those of Chinese nationals in African countries such as the DRC, Mali, Senégal, and Ghana.

Arrests on the ground

Various types of mining sites can be found in Africa today, from large industrial ones to small-scale, illegal ones. While it's impossible to know the exact number of mines China operates in Africa, one thing is clear: Chinese companies are a major presence in the continent’s mining industries — particularly for minerals essential in the green energy transition, such as copper, cobalt, and lithium. However, as its presence on the continent grows, so does the illegal exploitation of mining resources in many African countries, which is straining diplomatic relations and causing tension with local communities.

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For example, a Business Insider Africa article from early July 2025 refers to a diplomatic conflict between China and Ghana that may arise from the illegal exploitation of the Galamsey gold mines. This isn’t the first time the issue has come up in the region, as two Chinese nationals were arrested for the same crime in April 2021, according to an article by China Global South Project. A little over a month later, in June of the same year, ten more Chinese were arrested for their involvement in illegal mining.

In January 2025, three Chinese nationals were arrested in possession of gold ingots and EUR 800,000 (over USD 920,000) in South Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Their arrest comes two weeks after the arrest of seventeen other Chinese nationals involved in illegal mineral exploitation.

Although China has not commented on the arrest of its nationals in the DRC, it has adopted a protective stance in Ghana.

Is China defending the indefensible?

While the evidence is overwhelming, the Chinese authorities skirt around the issue by not acknowledging China's role in it. Tong Defa, China's ambassador to Ghana, rejected the unilateral responsibility of Chinese nationals in an interview with Business Insider Africa:

The Chinese ambassador believes that his fellow citizens have been helped by Ghanaian citizens who have made these illegal operations effective. He adds:

For Tong Defa, Ghanaians should be grateful to China for its investment in infrastructure and turn a blind eye to potential illegal activities.

Such a reaction will only inflame the anger of the people and civil society organizations who are constantly leveling accusations against Chinese companies in these various countries, and now China, which is being singled out as the main culprit.

Reactions from various stakeholders

In October 2024, many Ghanaian citizens, including artists, members of local communities, and civil society actors, expressed their dissatisfaction.

John Manful, an agricultural development consultant, speaking to BBC Africa in October 2024, acknowledged that some foreigners engage in illegal small-scale gold mining, which is reserved for Ghanaian citizens. He stated:

And according to journalist Alexis Akwagyiram, quoted in an Africa Defense Forum publication, the sharp rise in this phenomenon is due to the massive influx of Chinese nationals:

One of the direct consequences of these practices is the pollution of rivers that serve as water sources for local communities. During the gold extraction process, the Chinese use products such as mercury and cyanide, thereby contaminating these waters, which change color and become undrinkable for local populations. Dr. John Manful states:

Israel Derrick Apeti, a Ghanaian painter, uses this polluted water to create artworks and thus denounces this harmful practice.

What about African countries?

In the face of what can only be described as a scandal, the responsibilities of governments must be shared. The case of the DRC is a major incident that undermines the efforts of the Congolese authorities in their fight against the illegal exploitation of minerals and thus to reduce or combat corruption in this key sector.

The ease with which the Chinese operate in these two countries illustrates the loopholes they take advantage of: Collusion with local elites or highlights the corruption in which locals are allegedly the perpetrators, circumvention of mining laws, weak or ineffective sanctions, clandestine routes, and illegal access to industrial sites, etc. In the DRC, the source reports that:

In a publication on X, DRC journalist Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala denounces illegal operations on the Boss Mining site:

As for Ghana, civil society organizations can continue to accuse the authorities’ inaction of amplifying illegal gold mining in the country. As this article from Radio France Internationale (RFI), published in 2024, reminds us. According to Andrew Edwin Arthur, a founding member of the coalition of organizations quoted in the article, high-ranking officials are involved in corruption that encourages this phenomenon. He tells RFI:

While maintaining its policy of conquering the international mining market, will China be able to call back the companies and citizens involved in this illegal exploitation? Or will it turn a blind eye and condone this grave violation of local communities’ rights?

The silence of the Chinese authorities on the many cases reported on the continent today constitutes a strong argument for those who see China's presence in Africa as another form of modern-day colonization. [Global Voices/VP]

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