ABP and Allianz invest millions in mining companies that violate human rights in Congo
Insurer Allianz and Dutch pension funds ABP, Detailhandel, Vervoer, and BpfBOUW are investing a total of €300 million in the two mining companies that own the Kamoa copper mine in Congo. In and around this mine, the largest copper mine in Africa, local communities face serious human rights violations and environmental pollution. The investors do nothing to hold these mining companies accountable for these abuses. This is revealed in new research published today by the Dutch Fair Finance Guide.
The Kamoa Copper Mine in southern Congo is the fourth largest copper mine in the world and the largest copper producer on the African continent. The mine is owned by four parties, of which Canadian Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%) and Chinese Zijin Mining Group (also 39.6%) are the largest. German insurer Allianz, with a large market share on the Dutch market, is investing €192 million and the Dutch pension funds ABP €99 million, Detailhandel €10 million, Vervoer €1.7 million, and BpfBOUW €1.1 million in these two owners of the Congo mine. Pension fund Vervoer was the only one to indicate that it is in dialogue with Zijin Mining Group, but regarding other misconduct by the company.
The new Fair Finance The Netherlands report shows that rivers around the mine are polluted, contaminating drinking water sources. Local communities are displaced to make room for the mine and are often given land unsuitable for agriculture, leaving them unable to support themselves. Local communities lose access to fair treatment, and dialogue with the company no longer works. During peaceful protests in April 2025 against plans to relocate residents of ten more villages, the Kamoa Copper mining company filed a complaint against demonstrators. The government then arbitrarily arrested 72 people and detained them.
Valerie Schreur, spokesperson for Fair Finance The Netherlands, said: “The Kamoa mine shows that this kind of mining causes serious harm to people and the environment. Dutch pension funds and insurer Allianz are investing millions in the companies that own this mine. Yet none of these investors exert any pressure to put an end to the abuses. We demand that these investors hold the companies operating the mine accountable, so they restore dialogue with communities, allow peaceful protests, stop polluting water, and provide proper financial compensation to affected local communities. Financial institutions must take their policies and responsibility to respect human rights seriously.”
Note to Editors
Research for this report was drawn from recent Oxfam, Fair Finance International and 11.11.11. report “Financing Critical Minerals but Failing Critical Safeguards” which exposes how Europe’s banks and investors are blindly investing in mining companies linked to land grabs, pollution and human rights violations.
The report traces European banks and investors linked to four mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Brazil and Peru, each tied to environmental or human rights abuses.
