Study "Remote sensing-based inventory and environmental risk assessment of copper-cobalt mining waste in the DR Congo"

The aim of this study is hence to perform a remote sensing-based inventory and environmental risk assessment of copper-cobalt mining-waste facilities across the Congolese Copperbelt, integrating geo-referenced satellite-based mapping, documentation review, and targeted field validation. This study covers copper-cobalt mining residues across the entire Congolese Copperbelt in the DRC provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba (estimated area <45,000 km and focuses on three principal types of mining-waste facilities: tailings storage facilities (TSFs), waste-rock dumps (WRDs), and dispersed artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) residues of a certain minimum size. These facility types account for the majority of mining-related waste volumes and present the greatest potential for acute environmental risks, including dam failures, acid mine drainage, and chronic sediment runoff, in both industrial and artisanal contexts. The focus of the study is to locate, classify, and characterize mining waste sites that are visible in the 2019-2025 satellite record. The study does not include any detailed geotechnical design reviews or comprehensive geochemical audits of individual facilities. The assignment shall be carried out entirely by the bidder (henceforth: the Consultant), under the overall supervision of the Client (BGR) who shall additionally provide support where explicitly specified in these Terms of Reference.