The Democratic Republic of Congo has sent Washington a shortlist of state-owned mining assets — spanning manganese, copper-cobalt, gold and lithium — for potential investment by U.S. companies, two senior Congolese officials said.
Delivered last week, the list marks the most concrete step so far in translating a U.S.–Congo minerals partnership into access to Congo’s critical-minerals supply chain. It follows renewed U.S. engagement in the region after President Donald Trump brokered an agreement between Congo and Rwanda aimed at easing tensions in the mineral-rich east.
The shortlist, vetted internally in Kinshasa, includes manganese, gold and cassiterite licences held by Kisenge; Gécamines’ Mutoshi copper-cobalt project and a germanium-processing venture; four gold permits operated by Sokimo; lithium licences held by Cominière; and coltan, gold and wolframite assets controlled by Sakima. The assets are those not already committed under joint ventures or farm-out agreements, one official said, adding that the process complies with Congolese law.
The list has been presented to a joint U.S.–Congo steering committee set up to implement the minerals pact. According to a document seen by Reuters, Congo is represented on the committee by Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Daniel Mukoko Samba, along with the ministers of foreign affairs, mines and finance, and the head of the minerals regulator ARECOMS.
The push comes as Washington seeks to reduce its dependence on China, which dominates the refining of strategic minerals and whose companies remain major players in Congo’s mining sector.
M&B with Reuters
