DRC Shares State-Owned Mineral Assets with US to Boost Investment in Cobalt, Copper, Lithium
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has formally presented a shortlist of state-owned mineral assets to the United States, marking a major step in a growing partnership aimed at reshaping global supply chains for critical metals.
Senior Congolese officials confirmed that the list, submitted to Washington last week, includes projects spanning manganese, copper, cobalt, gold, lithium, and other strategic minerals.
The announcement represents Kinshasa’s most transparent effort to translate recent diplomatic and security agreements with the US into long-term investment influence over the country’s vast mineral wealth.
The initiative aligns with Washington’s renewed strategy to diversify sources of critical minerals and reduce dependence on China, which currently dominates global processing and refining.
According to the International Energy Agency, China processes between 47 percent and 87 percent of key strategic minerals, including copper, lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements.
For the DRC, the partnership comes at a time of heightened international interest in its resources. The country holds some of the world’s richest deposits of cobalt and copper—metals essential for electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, and advanced manufacturing.
Historically, Chinese firms have played a dominant role in extracting and exporting these minerals, giving Beijing a significant external presence in the sector.
The shortlisted assets were selected after multiple rounds of internal vetting. One official described the list as “the most direct offer yet” from the Congolese state, inviting US investors to evaluate and potentially invest in projects held by state-owned mining companies that are not already tied to joint ventures or farm-out agreements.
Notable assets on the list include:
Kisenge’s manganese, gold, and cassiterite licenses
Gecamines’ Mutoshi copper-cobalt project and germanium processing venture
Four gold permits held by Sokimo
Lithium licenses operated by Cominiere
Coltan, gold, and wolframite assets under Sakima
Officials emphasized that the process is fully compliant with Congolese law.
The US has already shown commitment through concrete financial backing. The US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has signed a minerals marketing agreement with Gecamines and supported the $553 million Lobito Corridor upgrade, a regional rail and port project designed to streamline mineral exports from Central Africa to global markets.
The asset list has been submitted to a Joint Steering Committee for American investors, a bilateral body established to oversee the implementation of the minerals partnership.
The committee includes senior Congolese officials, including Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Daniel Mukoko Samba, as well as the ministers of foreign affairs, mines, and finance, and the head of the mining regulator, ARECOMS.
While neither the Congolese government nor the US State Department issued immediate public comments, the next phase is expected to involve formal meetings of the joint committee and the start of negotiations with prospective investors.
For African economies and global markets alike, the DRC-US minerals partnership highlights the strategic importance of the continent’s resources in shaping investment flows, geopolitical influence, and the future of critical minerals supply chains.
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