In its first phase, the project aimed at contributing to the development of a mineral certification system focused on gold and the 3Ts, integrating it into national legislation, and applying the standards to a volunteer set of producers on first pilot sites in Eastern DRC.

A certification working group composed of experts of the Congolese mining ministry and of the BGR developed a plan of action and a time schedule and also compiled a handbook for the implementation of the national certification system, which was signed into law in June 2011. Five pilot sites, whose selection occurred in close collaboration with national and provincial mining sector authorities as well as with representatives of small scale miners, local trades and civil society, underwent a baseline audit of which two were certified during the fall of 2013. CTC standards on mining practice were included in the establishment of the Regional Certification System of the ICGLR as progress criteria in 2011.

Project activities, still ongoing to date, also include advanced training and skill enhancement of employees of the mining authorities (national Small Scale Mining Service SEASSCAM and the Provincial Division of Mines).

In the second phase of the project, the CTC system is to be extended in Eastern Congo and 20% of the mine sites accounting for 60% of the production of 3Ts and gold should be certified through governmental organizations and third party auditors. Intervention levels include:

• Support to governmental institutions (CAMi, CEEC, Division des Mines and SAESSCAM) and the reinforcement of their and know-how in terms of certification as well as good practice in mining.
• Engagement with the mining industry and their affiliations such as the FEC (Fédération des Entreprises du Congo), especially industrial and semi-industrial mines that wish to encourage the development of good and best mining practices in Congo.
• Support to the formalizing and legalizing of artisanal miners, as well as improvement of mining practice in artisanal mining.
• Engagement to an improved dialogue between authorities, mining companies and civil society.

The third phase of the project focuses on improving the CTC certification scheme for responsible artisanal and small-scale mining. The standard criteria are updated and expanded to include direct references to the OECD Due Diligence Guidance as well as to the new DRC Mining Code of 2018. The mineral scope of the scheme is expanded beyond the 3Ts and gold and shall include copper-cobalt ore as well as galena and semi-precious stones exploited through artisanal and small-scale mining. A new governance structure is established and operational procedures are adjusted in order to facilitate sustainable long-term application of the CTC scheme. Aside from work on the CTC scheme, the third project phase includes developing various technical solutions to support sustainable mineral supply chains in the DRC.

In the first phase of implementing the Certified Trading Chains (CTC) scheme in the DRC, CTC mine site audits were conducted by independent auditors and supported by the BGR. Until 2018, the CTC audit standard comprised 21 indicators as defined in the CTC Manuals version 0 of 2011 for gold and the 3Ts . The audit approach included an initial baseline and a subsequent compliance audit. While the baseline audit served to develop improvement recommendations for the mine site operator, the compliance audit provided a base for the Ministry of Mines to issue a CTC certificate for compliant mines, valid for three years. Re-certification audits took place to renew the CTC certificate.
Starting 2019, a new CTC Manual version 1 is in place. The new Manual now defines 38 CTC standard indicators organized in the six principles (1) transparency and due diligence, (2) worker rights, (3) legality, (4) health and safety, (5) community development and (6) environment. A baseline audit of mine sites no longer takes place and is replaced by other means of baseline information gathering, such as mine inspections. A compliance audit of mine sites serves as the base to issue CTC certificate by the DRC Ministry of Mines.