Congo offers U.S. access to key state mining assets

The Democratic Republic of Congo has shared a shortlist of state-owned mining assets with the United States for potential American investment, including projects linked to manganese, copper-cobalt, gold and lithium, Reuters reported, citing two senior Congolese officials.

According to Reuters, the shortlist was delivered to U.S. officials last week and represents Washington’s clearest step so far toward converting recent diplomatic and investment agreements with Congo into tangible involvement in the country’s critical minerals sector. One of the officials said the Congolese government intends to offer assets held by state-owned companies that are not already tied up in “existing farm-out agreements or joint ventures.”

The assets listed include manganese, gold and cassiterite licences operated by Kisenge; Gecamines’ Mutoshi copper-cobalt project and a germanium-processing venture; four gold permits held by state miner Sokimo; lithium licences controlled by Cominiere; and coltan, gold and wolframite assets owned by Sakima, Reuters reported. Congo is one of the world’s most resource-rich countries and holds vast reserves of minerals essential for electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies and defence applications.

The move follows a U.S.-brokered peace accord signed in Washington on December 4, 2025, between Congo and neighbouring Rwanda. U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame for the signing, which committed both countries to respect territorial integrity and halt hostilities. However, renewed violence in eastern Congo since the agreement was signed has raised doubts about its durability and underscored the fragility of security conditions in the mineral-rich region.

Trump has repeatedly portrayed the peace accord as both a diplomatic and economic breakthrough, arguing that stability would unlock access to Congo and Rwanda’s vast reserves of cobalt, tantalum, lithium, copper and gold for U.S. companies. He has framed the agreement as a strategic win for American energy security and defence supply chains, explicitly linking peace in the Great Lakes region to U.S. access to critical raw materials.

Major U.S. mining and energy firms have been invited to explore new concessions tied to the accord, while Wall Street investors, including hedge funds and private equity firms, are assessing opportunities in cobalt, tantalum, lithium and copper. Technology companies and defence contractors are expected to benefit indirectly through long-term supply agreements aimed at securing inputs for electric vehicle batteries, semiconductors and military systems.

Washington’s growing interest comes as China remains the dominant foreign player in Congo’s mining sector. Through state-owned enterprises and private firms, Beijing has invested billions of dollars in copper and cobalt projects, making Congo its most strategic hub for critical minerals in Africa. Chinese companies have backed major developments, including a $1.08 billion expansion of the KFM copper mine, securing resources vital to China’s electric vehicle and renewable energy industries.

China’s investment model typically combines financing, infrastructure construction and downstream processing, enabling it to capture more value along the supply chain while African countries largely continue to export raw materials. In Congo, which holds some of the world’s largest cobalt reserves, Chinese engagement reflects both extractive and developmental approaches, tying mineral revenues to infrastructure projects and reinforcing Beijing’s influence over global critical mineral supply chains at a time when competition over resources needed for the energy transition is intensifying.