Marie* used to live in Kabombwa, a peaceful farming village of more than 1,000 people in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A river meandered past the community, where villagers drew water for household tasks. Until one day in 2020, the water started irritating their skin.
Not long before this, the Tenke Fungurume Mine (TFM) had built a factory upstream, producing quicklime used to process cobalt ores. According to a report by an official commission, untreated wastewater was allowed to drain into the water system.1
