Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, the Chinese group seeking to acquire Atlantic Lithium, the developer of Ghana’s Ewoyaa lithium mine, is facing scrutiny in the Democratic Republic of Congo over delayed compensation to communities affected by pollution from one of its subsidiaries. Congo’s mines ministry said on November 6 that Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM) remains obliged to pay $6 million to affected communities despite financial difficulties and a suspension of its operations, Reuters reported.
The case concerns an industrial wastewater spill at CDM’s Lubumbashi operation in November 2025, in which a basin intended to retain water had been used to store acidic solutions, according to the ministry. The incident affected surrounding communities and prompted authorities to suspend the operation for three months. CDM was required to provide $2 million each to the communities of Kasapa, Kamatete and Kamisepe, and a separate $6.6 million penalty was imposed for payment to the state treasury.
Implementation of the community compensation programme has been delayed. The ministry attributed the delays partly to financial difficulties cited by CDM, which recently announced it had halted its activities, and stated that financial difficulties or the suspension of operations do not exempt the operator from its obligations toward affected populations.
For Ghana, the timing is pointed. Huayou has already completed an agreement to acquire Elevra Lithium’s rights and interests in the Ewoyaa project and Ghana portfolio, independently of its proposed acquisition of Atlantic Lithium itself. That takeover remains a separate transaction, subject to a shareholder vote scheduled for December 14 following court approval, plus regulatory approvals from Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, alignment with the Minerals Income Investment Fund, and the remaining conditions. The Congo incident does not establish that similar problems will arise at Ewoyaa, but it gives Ghanaian regulators a concrete record against which to test the incoming investor’s environmental safeguards and compensation arrangements.