The first industrial mining extraction at this site happened in the 1970s by the consortium Societe Miniere de Tenke Fungurume (STMF) with a USD 270 million investment to look into feasibility studies of the mine and the commencement of construction. Due to economic and political issues, the company STMF was liquidated in 1984. Gecamines (La General des Carrieres et des Mines du Zaire) acquired Tenke Fungurume in July 1996 [3].

There was no official record of artisanal mining taking place before its industrial exploitation in the 70s. However, when the first industrial extraction started it created a huge interest among nearby communities and immigrants as it is one of the only economic activities in the area. When Gécamines took back the industrial mining concession in the late 1990s, they did find thousands of artisanal miners (20,000 miners by some accounts) who were in the industrial premises. The first industrial exploitation was short-lived, so artisanal mining took place for the two decades of non-industrial activities on site. It was two decades of tensions and violence between artisanal miners, the mining police, and the army. Artisanal mining continues to this date at Tenke Fungurme Mine [19].

The open cast Tenke Fungurume Mine (TFM) started its operation in 2009 and it focuses on the extraction and processing of ore with an average assessment of 2.1 percent of copper and 0.3 percent of cobalt [3]. Until 2016, TFM was owned by Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., Lundin Mining, and the state-owned company Gécamines. These three companies set a joint venture called Freeport cobalt [4]. However, from that year, the Chinese company Molybdenum took over the majority of the mine, together with Gécamines. Therefore, today China Molybdenum Co. owns 80% of the TFM, and Gécamines S.A. owns 20% [5][7]. TFM, together with the Mutanda and the Katanga Mine, account for almost half of cobalt production in the DRC in 2018 [6], which makes them an important revenue source of the country. Today, half the cobalt production comes from the DRC, and 80% of the country’s total export earnings come from copper and cobalt production [4][8][9].

Before the mine started its operations, TFM undertook a series of community consultations, as was required by law. According to a former TFM employee, TFM organized over 100 consultation and discussion meetings with local communities, including women, younger people, and tribal chiefs. The meetings were all announced by public media. These consultations were supposed to be based under the DRC's laws and international standards and at the same time, contemplate the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment, the Environmental and Social Management Plan, and the Mitigation and Rehabilitation Plan. However, many affected communities expressed their concerns and complaints as they could not properly understand the information they were receiving. Some documents were not even translated to their native language, Swahili. Therefore, it was very difficult for the local communities to discuss the issues and communicate their concerns regarding the TFM project. Besides the technical understanding difficulties, local communities emphasized that the mining companies did not give them enough time to properly comprehend the issues that were discussed in the different meetings. Furthermore, they did not get any opportunity to raise their voice and express their concerns to the authorities. Finally, the companies never did a follow-up after the first consultation, meaning that locals never knew if their concerns were essentially taken into account. Therefore, as all the decisions were made without the opinion of local communities, these meetings were more informative than consultative [1][3][10].

A new mining code was approved after Félix Tshisekedi got elected as President of the DRC in 2018. This gave some hope as it came with stronger responsibilities and regulations. Some of the major changes from the 2018 mining code are that first, it obliges companies to pay 0.3 % of their revenues to 'community development projects' for communities affected by the mine's activities, and secondly, it requires artisanal miners to be members of a cooperative and allows industrial miners to subcontract mining activities to cooperatives [18]. Crisis Group did interviews with local chiefs of villages surrounding TFM back in 2019 and clearly, there are tensions because the 0.3% contribution that should fund local communities is not being disbursed. They also complain about the absence of contact from the mining company and not knowing how to reach them out if needed [18]. 

Another impact caused by the TFM was the relocation of local communities living close to the mine. These communities were dispossessed of their lands without preparing a proper new location. Therefore, families, mostly from the village of Mulumbu, had to live in tents for almost two years while waiting for their new homes to be built. It took TFM several years until they finally resettled all of the affected people into new housing. This new housing, however, was not complying with the fundamental human rights, as most were sheet housing. Because of the relocation, many families saw their livelihood threatened. In the new village, there is no proper electricity access, no health care centers, and the soil has less quality than the soil families had access to before, in their old villages. Consequently, agricultural activity aggravated. As compensation for the reallocation, TFM promised to pay USD 200 to all affected families. However, this amount was not enough to compensate for the income loss as a result of the bad agricultural activities caused by the bad soil quality. A final problem caused by the displacement was that the communities that already lived in the village where new families were relocated, were not consulted. This caused tension and conflicts between the two communities. Thus, the conditions for resettlement were not respected [1][3][10].

Additionally, TFM installed a water pump that would fill the water tanks in order to give water access to the villages. In total it was promised that 42 wells would be installed in 42 different villages. However, less than a quarter of communities have benefited from a well. Furthermore, locals noted that the water is not enough as there is only one fountain and there are limited access times [1]. As a result, they constantly have to obtain water from dubious water wells where it is not ensured to be drinkable [10]. Another basic need that local communities do not have covered is electricity. Since TFM started its activity, villages no longer had persistent access to electricity throughout the day [10]. In the DRC electricity is a rare commodity for many different reasons. Even so, the government keeps allowing mining companies, that consume a lot of energy, to operate without any problems. Their activity is prioritized above the local communities’ needs. Therefore, as a result of the high energy consumption of the mine, villages suffer frequent blackouts [1]. Regarding health care, even if TFM built a new health center, many locals complain that they do not have easy access to it due to its low capacity and its high costs. Similarly, access to education is also not easy. Even if new schools were built, their capacity is not enough. Therefore, locals mentioned that the system is “first come first serve”, which leaves out many children with the opportunity of an education. In total, TFM built 3 new schools in Tenke and Fungurume and 3 more in close by villages. As a result, in a research study conducted by ACIDH, local people that had the opportunity to send their children to school, which were not many, mentioned that they were satisfied with the new schools [1][10].

Regarding working conditions, many employees stated that fundamental labor and human rights have not been complied with. Legal limits of working hours are not respected, overtime work is not being paid, and trade unions are not allowed. Furthermore, there has been some tension regarding the recruitment processes. TFM hires many non-declared workers, which makes them illegal employees. As a result of this action, the government loses taxes and employees do not have any labor rights, which means they can be dismissed anytime [1]. Another worry of the local communities is that, even if TFM promised to hire mostly local workers, they were actually hiring more workers from outside the immediate area while ignoring local residents [10]. 

Different protests emerged out of these concerns. On January 14, 2008, more than 5,000 people demonstrated against TFM and the subcontractors. During this protest, a lorry from the mine was set on fire and the warehouse was ransacked [1]. Similarly, different artisanal miners also protested throughout the years as TFM was restricting their ability to exploit their lands. Because of the TFM, many local miners got evicted, and their livelihood started to be threatened. The different protests got violent, and policemen started to shoot gunshots in the air during different protests and evictions to forewarn and scare people. Many were injured and there were deaths. In 2005, four miners and one mother were killed as a result of the expulsion procedure [1]. In 2010, a 13-year-old boy passed away from a gunshot wound he got during a protest [10]. In June 2019, a repeating situation occurred. The DRC military deployed hundreds of soldiers to expel thousands of artisanal miners in order to protect the TFM. Residents said that soldiers destroyed housing and shelters of 2 different villages and many people got injured [11][13].

The DRC is known for its high corruption and violation of workers’ and local communities’ rights associated with mining activity [9]. TFM has violated many human rights throughout its active years. Furthermore, the environmental impacts of the mine are also high. The mine has caused deforestation, biodiversity loss, among others. The increase in traffic, noise, and dust has also been significant, which affects the health of people living close to the mine. Furthermore, natural resources (e.g. wood, stones, and water) have been appropriated by TFM. This leaves local communities with nothing left. Locals, however, have not been compensated. Even if they got paid a small amount for their relocation, this is not enough. Money cannot be compared to the livelihood loss these communities had to face, and continue experiencing until today [1][3][10][14].

The initial production goal of the mine was to produce 400.000 tons of copper annually for a period between 50 and 100 years. By 2010, TFM produced 120.000 tons of copper and 9.000 cobalt [10]. The production of these two metals kept increasing over the years. By 2019 the production of copper reached 177.956 tons and the one of cobalt reached 16.098 tons [17]. However, in 2020, due to the pandemic COVID-19, the production of the mine decreased [18]. Even with the decrease of cobalt demand in the first half of 2020, TFM increased generally its cobalt sales in 2020, “from 14.56pc a year earlier to 17,333t, with inventories increasing by 220.82pc to 11,645t” [18].