Finally, households in DDP areas reported lower rates of illegitimate taxationby FARDC and higher rates of taxation by state agents than those in non-DDPareas

it should be noted that technological transformationsand mechanization of ASGM similarly have gendered effects. In Kamituga, this is most obvious in the recentintroduction of ball mills. Mechanized ball mills have pushed many twangaises out of work, which has in turnopened possibilities for minyangala and bizalu and has extended the production process almost ad infinitum.

While state agents of the Ministry of Mines are present at 77% of the mining sites that IPISvisited (475 of 619 sites of the current project), people usually consider them as ‘exploitive’rather than ‘supportive.’ Complaints about state agent behavior are common.

the artisanal mining sector. On the one hand, the traceability systemhas made it possible to exclude certain positions, including those oc-cupied by women in mineral supply chains. On the other hand, makingit mandatory for miners to band together in associations can createopportunities for women to organize themselves as well, in turn im-proving their positions in mineral supply chains.

cooperatives are subject to elitecapture, as they establish trade monopolies, are organized along ethnic lines (see for example section3.2.1.4 on the cooperatives COMICHA and COMINYA in Kalehe territory), and they do not provide anysupport to miners

Fifty-six percent of mining sites visitedby IPIS (197 sites) had at least one cooperative in place. This percentage is considerably higher for 3T sites(76% of the total number of 3T sites, compared to 52% for gold sites), as the 3T sector is more regulatedthan the gold sector

Taxation without a receipt’ was for example reported in 182sites, ‘over-taxation’ (asking more than foreseen by legislation) in 127 sites and ‘pit ownership’ by stateagents (which is illegal) in 63 sites.

Firstly, despite that state services visit many sites, the frequency of visits can bevery low. Secondly, in many cases, people consider state agents as ‘exploitive’ rather than ‘supportive.’While state agents are present at 83% of sites, complaints occurred at 74% of these sites. Com-plaints most often include illegal taxation, as well as issues around state agents developing their ownstakes in mining, or threatening miners.

IPIS teams reported on visits by state services at 83% of mining sites

DDP (N = 289) 93 percent 70 percent 7 percentNon-DDP (N = 334) 84 percent 81 percent