This bill, the China-Africa Mining Transparency Act, would require the Secretary of State to publish a list at least once a year for five years of People’s Republic of China (PRC)-origin entities that the Secretary reasonably assesses are carrying out mining in certain African countries using forced labor or causing environmental harm to protected areas. The list must cover mining of critical minerals, gold, or iron and must identify each related mine, mining zone, or concession. The bill defines key terms such as PRC entity (including entities owned, controlled by, or organized under PRC jurisdiction, and their affiliates or joint ventures), forced labor, artisanal and small-scale mining, large-scale mining, protected area, and environmental harm. In making the list, the Secretary must use open-source information and information from U.S. embassies and consult other U.S. agencies (including Labor, Commerce, Treasury, and the U.S. intelligence community) and foreign counterparts. The publicly released list must be unclassified, but the submission to oversight committees may include a classified annex if needed.
No publicly available information on estimated costs or budgetary effects is included in the bill text or metadata.
Proponents intend the measure to create public transparency by identifying PRC-origin entities and specific mining sites in certain African countries that are linked to forced labor or that cause environmental harm to protected areas. The bill directs use of open-source information, embassy reporting, and interagency consultation to produce the lists.
No publicly available information on opponents' views or formal objections is included in the bill text or metadata.