Gray List Global

Eastern Congo minerals: quick reference

Key groups, people, places and terms in Gray List Global’s analysis of eastern Congo’s minerals. Updated with each part of the series.

Armed groups and forces

• M23 (March 23 Movement). Rebel group fighting the Congolese government in North and South Kivu since 2021; named for a 23 March 2009 peace deal. Took Goma (January 2025) and Bukavu (February 2025). Designated by the US and UN.
• AFC / Congo River Alliance (Alliance Fleuve Congo). M23’s political wing, led by Corneille Nangaa.
• Front for the Refoundation of the Nation. Movement announced on 12 October 2026, led by former president Joseph Kabila, replacing the AFC as M23’s political wing.
• RDF (Rwanda Defence Force). Rwanda’s army. The US says it fights alongside M23; sanctioned by the US on 2 March 2026. Rwanda denies backing M23.
• FARDC. The Congolese army (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo).
• FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda). Hutu militia formed by perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Rwanda cites it as its main security threat.
• Wazalendo. Loose coalition of local armed groups fighting alongside the Congolese army against M23.
• ADF (Allied Democratic Forces). Armed group of Ugandan origin operating in North Kivu and Ituri; affiliated with the Islamic State as the Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP). Designated by the US in 2021 as a foreign terrorist organization (ISIS-DRC).
• UPDF (Uganda People’s Defence Forces). Uganda’s army. Pursues the ADF inside Congo under Operation Shujaa.

Sanctioned entities and people (US Treasury)

• Rwandan Ministry of Defence. Sanctioned 28 October 2026 for supporting the RDF.
• Zigama Credit and Savings Society. Rwandan financial institution operating for Rwanda’s security services. Sanctioned 28 October 2026; Treasury says a branch moved gold from M23-held territory to Kigali.
• Gasabo Gold Refinery LTD. Gold refinery in Kigali. Sanctioned 25 June 2026 (EU sanctions March 2025); received at least 60 kg of gold from eastern Congo in early 2026, per Treasury.
• Jean Malic Kalima. Chairman of Gasabo; controls three sanctioned mining firms. Sanctioned 25 June 2026.
• Bosco Kayobotsi. General manager of Gasabo. Sanctioned 25 June 2026.
• Bugambira Mines LTD, Wolfram Mining and Processing LTD, Rwinkwavu Mining Corporation LTD. Rwandan mining companies controlled by Kalima. Sanctioned 25 June 2026.

People

• Paul Kagame. President of Rwanda.
• Yolande Makolo. Rwandan government spokesperson.
• Joseph Kabila. Former president of the DR Congo; leads the Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (October 2026).
• Corneille Nangaa. AFC leader; designated by the UN sanctions committee in July 2026.

Places

• North Kivu, South Kivu, Ituri. Provinces of eastern DR Congo where the fighting and the mining are concentrated.
• Goma. Capital of North Kivu, on the north shore of Lake Kivu, on the border with Rwanda. Held by M23 since January 2025.
• Bukavu. Capital of South Kivu, at the south end of Lake Kivu, opposite Rusizi in Rwanda. Held by M23 since February 2025.
• Lake Kivu. Lake on the Congo-Rwanda border; boats carry gold-bearing soil across it, per Amnesty.
• Lomera. Lakeside artisanal gold site in Luhihi, Kabare territory, South Kivu. Gold rush from early 2025; under M23 control from mid-February 2025, with a 30 percent tax at the pit; mining suspended 30 August 2025; digging continued into 2026.
• Karhembu. Semi-mechanized gold operation under M23 in Walungu territory, South Kivu (UN Group of Experts).
• Twangiza. The only industrial-scale gold mine in the Kivus, in Mwenga territory, South Kivu; seized by M23 on 8 May 2025; hit by Congolese air strikes in October 2025.
• Rubaya. Coltan mining area in Masisi territory, North Kivu, northwest of Goma; held by M23 (Part II).
• Kamembe / Rusizi. Town and district in western Rwanda across from Bukavu; landing point for gold from Congo, per Treasury and Amnesty.
• Kigali. Capital of Rwanda; site of the Gasabo refinery and Zigama.
• Manguredjipa. Gold trading center in the Bapere sector of Lubero territory, North Kivu; heart of the ADF’s gold economy, per The Sentry.
• Mambasa, Bafwasende. Towns in Ituri and Tshopo provinces on the ADF gold corridor.
• Butembo. Trading city in North Kivu; buying houses there sell gold on to Ugandan refiners, per The Sentry.
• Beni, Kasindi. Town in North Kivu and border crossing into Uganda on the main road east.
• Kampala, Entebbe. Capital of Uganda and nearby airport city; Uganda’s gold refiners and exporters operate here.
• Dubai. Main global market for the region’s conflict-affected gold.

Organizations and sources

• OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control). US Treasury office that maintains the sanctions list.
• UN Group of Experts on the DRC. Independent panel that reports to the UN Security Council’s DR Congo sanctions committee. Latest midterm report: S/2025/858 (30 December 2025).
• The Sentry. Washington-based investigative group that tracks money behind African conflicts; author of “Gold-Backed Brutality” (October 2026).
• Amnesty International. Human rights organization; author of the September 2026 briefing on M23 abuses at Lomera and Rubaya.
• ACLED. Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a conflict monitoring project.
• ICGLR (International Conference on the Great Lakes Region). Regional body; set up a commission of inquiry in August 2025 into mineral and gold smuggling from Congo to Rwanda since 2022.

Terms

• Artisanal mining. Small-scale mining by hand, with little or no machinery.
• Coltan. Ore containing tantalum, used in electronics capacitors (Part II).
• Doré. Partly refined gold bar, poured at a mine or local refinery before final refining.
• E.O. 13413. 2006 US executive order that authorizes sanctions related to the DR Congo conflict.
• SDN list. OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals list; US persons may not deal with listed parties, and their US assets are blocked.
• UN Security Council Resolution 2293 (2016), paragraph 7(g). Allows UN sanctions on those who support armed groups in the DR Congo through the illicit trade in natural resources, including gold.
• Washington Accords. US-brokered peace agreement signed by the presidents of the DR Congo and Rwanda on 4 December 2025.
• Operation Shujaa. Joint Uganda-DR Congo military operation against the ADF, launched in 2021.
• Link grades used by GLG. Confirmed: stated in an official record. Reported: stated by credible reporting or investigation, attributed by name. Inferred: GLG’s own analysis, labeled as such.