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By PPatrick Mapenzi
After nearly twenty years spent studying artisanal mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr Gabriel Kamundala Byemba is taking the plunge. The researcher announced this Thursday, 12 November 2026, the creation of Mining for People (M4P), an organisation that aims to put diggers and their communities back at the centre of mineral supply chains.
The motto fits in one line: « Not only minerals but also people. » Behind the formula lies a barely veiled critique of a sector that talks a great deal about tonnes, certificates and traceability, and very little about those who go down the shafts.
Twenty years in the field before taking the leap
Gabriel Kamundala is no newcomer to the sector. His doctorate and postdoctoral research, carried out in the Department of Geography at the University of Zurich (UZH), Switzerland, focused on three subjects: artisanal mining, mineral supply chains and mining governance in the DRC.
This journey produced peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs and research reports. But the researcher insists above all on what books do not provide: direct and repeated contact with artisanal miners and local communities.
It is this dual perspective, academic and field-based, that he now claims as the foundation of M4P.
A blunt assessment: wealth escapes those who produce it
Wealth escapes those who produce it
In the message announcing the launch, the co-founder paints a picture in two parts. On one side, what he says he has seen with his own eyes: difficult working conditions, obstacles that prevent diggers from genuinely integrating into global supply chains, and communities that benefit little from the mineral wealth they help to produce.
On the other, what fuels his optimism: the resilience of the miners, their expertise, their knowledge and what he calls their « remarkable potential. »
From this comes the conviction underpinning the project. For Dr Kamundala, the formalisation of the artisanal sector cannot be reduced to regulatory compliance, certification and traceability. It must put miners, their livelihoods, their local knowledge and their communities at the heart of responsible supply chains.
A bridge between the university and the mine
Founding M4P does not mean leaving research behind, its initiator warns, saying he keeps « one foot firmly in the academic world. » The ambition is the opposite: to build a stronger bridge between the production of knowledge and practical solutions in the field.
Concretely, the organisation intends to contribute to a more responsible, more inclusive artisanal mining sector centred on people. Its announced areas of work:
· collaboration and technical support for sector actors;
· responsible sourcing and due diligence;
· mineral traceability;
· formalisation of artisanal mining;
· improvement of working conditions;
· social and economic modernisation of artisanal miners.
An outstretched hand to the entire chain
The launch takes the form of an invitation to collaborate, addressed to the entire chain. Upstream: artisanal mining cooperatives, local organisations, companies and traders who already source from the DRC or plan to do so. Downstream: buyers, development partners, researchers, policymakers and investors interested in more responsible and more inclusive supply chains.
M4P says it expects from them ideas, expertise, partnerships and support, in order to turn ambition into concrete action in the field.
It remains to be seen how this promise will translate on mining sites: no timetable, intervention areas or initial partners have been detailed at this stage. The course, however, is set: responsible supply chains should not be limited to minerals, they should also concern people.
