Mining Taxation in Africa: A Comparative Analysis of Fiscal Regimes The cases of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso

Abstract

Mining taxation plays a central role in enabling resource-rich countries to capture an appropriate share of the economic value generated by mineral exploitation while maintaining an attractive environment for mining investment. This study aims to examine the main characteristics and instruments of mining fiscal regimes and to comparatively analyses their application in selected African countries. The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach to examine the theoretical and conceptual foundations of mining taxation, followed by a comparative analysis of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso. The analysis focuses on the main fiscal instruments used to mobilize public revenues, particularly corporate income tax, mining royalties, withholding taxes, and State equity participation. The findings indicate that corporate income tax represents the main source of public revenues in the four cases, while mining royalties provide a relatively stable revenue stream linked to mineral production. The comparison also highlights differences in the role of State equity participation, which is more prominent in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burkina Faso, whereas South Africa and Ivory Coast rely predominantly on conventional fiscal instruments. The study concludes that the effectiveness of a mining fiscal regime should not be assessed solely by the level of revenue collected, but by its ability to ensure a fair and sustainable share of mineral wealth while preserving investment attractiveness, fiscal stability, and revenue predictability throughout the mining project life cycle.