Special report · September 2026
What the decrees actually said
The phrase “illegal reasoning” is AVZ’s and its lawyers’. The paper the minister signed gives a different official story. Both belong here.
| Date | Act | Official reason | AVZ / tribunal counter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Apr / 25 Apr / 4 May 2022 | Ministerial decrees awarding PE 13359 to Dathcom on the south of PR 13359. North excluded pending PR renewal. | Conversion of a valid research permit after a definitive feasibility study and an application under the Mining Code. | AVZ treated the decree as the licence it had earned. Payment of surface rights to CAMI was the last administrative step. |
| 28 January 2023 | Decrees 00031 and 00032: cancel the partial-waiver acknowledgement and cancel the PE. | The north was waived “in disregard of the opinion of minority shareholders” and caused “persistent tensions”. Harmonious cooperation among Dathcom shareholders was required. | AVZ: a majority-owned JV cannot lose title because the 25 per cent state partner is in a fight the state itself fuelled by selling 15 per cent to Zijin over AVZ’s pre-emption. ICSID later ordered the state to recognise Dathcom on PR 13359 (south) pending the merits. |
| 20 October 2023 | Approval of partial cession / work on PR 15775 for Manono Lithium SAS. | Restart exploration on the north after splitting the deposit. | ICC emergency orders had already told Cominière not to explore or exploit PR 13359 and PR 15775. The March 2025 partial award found continued breach and liquidated a €39.1 million penalty. |
| 19 March 2026 | CAMI forfeiture of AVZ Minerals Congo PR 4029 (79 blocks, Manono Extension). | Unpaid annual surface fees, Mining Code article 289. Thirty days to appeal. | Occurs while the core title fight is before ICSID. Adds pressure around the same district. |
On criminality
No located conviction of N’Samba Kalambayi or Loando Mboyo for stealing this licence. Civil findings do exist: the ICC found Cominière in breach; ICSID accepted jurisdiction and issued interim orders the state has not complied with. Resource Matters’ nine red flags (2025) list NGO payments, the escrow, opaque share transfers and politically connected intermediaries — governance findings, not a cabinet indictment. Cominière’s replies accuse AVZ of opacity and call the twenty million an AVZ-side scandal. Both narratives are on the record.