US open to minerals partnerships with Democratic Republic of Congo

Reuters
Sun, March 9, 2025


FILE PHOTO: A view of processing facilities at Tenke Fungurume, a copper and cobalt mine northwest of Lubumbashi in Congo's copper-producing south


(Reuters) -The United States is open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo, the State Department said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, after a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.

Democratic Republic of Congo, which is rich in cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, has been fighting Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized swathes of its territory this year.

Talk of a deal with the U.S. - which is also in discussions with Ukraine over a minerals pact - has circulated in Kinshasa for weeks.

"The United States is open to discussing partnerships in this sector that are aligned with the Trump Administration's America First Agenda," a State Department spokesperson said, noting that Congo held "a significant share of the world's critical minerals required for advanced technologies."

The U.S. has worked "to boost U.S. private sector investment in the DRC to develop mining resources in a responsible and transparent manner," the spokesperson said.

Kinshasa has not publicly detailed a proposal, instead saying it is seeking diversified partnerships.

"There is a desire for us to diversify our partners," Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said last week, adding there were "daily exchanges" between Congo and the U.S.

"If today American investors are interested in coming to the DRC, obviously they will find space ... DRC has reserves that are available and it would also be good if American capital could invest here," he said.

REGIONAL STABILITY

Andre Wameso, deputy chief of staff to Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, travelled to Washington earlier this month for talks on a partnership, two sources told Reuters.

On February 21, a lobbyist representing the Congolese Senator Pierre Kanda Kalambayi sent letters to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other American officials inviting U.S. investment in Congo's vast mineral resources in exchange for helping to reinforce "regional stability".

That initiative was not sanctioned by the broader Congolese government or presidency, according to two Congolese officials. There are, however, several initiatives underway, albeit in nascent stages, sources from Congo's presidency, its ministry of mines, and from Washington told Reuters.

A Congolese delegation had been scheduled to meet with the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 6, but cancelled the meeting at short notice, according to two sources.

"I think it's certainly something that will pique people's interest in Washington, and I think it has attracted interest," said Jason Stearns, a Congo expert at Canada's Simon Fraser University, noting that Congo's mineral supply chains are currently dominated by China.

But, he said, the U.S. does not have state-owned companies like China does, and no private American mining companies currently operate in Congo.

"So if the Congolese want to make this work, it will probably not be by offering a U.S. company a mining concession. They'll have to look at more complicated ways of engaging the U.S.", he added.

(Reporting by Congo newsroom, Sonia Rolley and Portia Crowe; Editing by David Holmes)

DR Congo offers $5m bounties for rebel leaders

Joseph Winter & Will Ross - BBC News
Sun, March 9, 2025 at 7:39 AM MDT



Corneille Nangaa has addressed large rallies in cities captured by the M23 [AFP]

The Democratic Republic of Congo government has offered a reward of $5m (£4m) for help arresting three leaders of a rebel group which has seized much of the east of the country this year.

Corneille Nangaa, a former head of DR Congo's electoral commission, now leads the Congo River Alliance, which includes the M23 rebel group. He has addressed large rallies in the cities under the group's control.

The bounty is also on offer for M23 leaders Sultani Makenga and Bertrand Bisimwa.

Last year the three men were prosecuted in absentia by a military court and given death sentences for treason.

A reward of $4m (£3) was also offered for the arrest of two journalists living in exile, and others the government describes as accomplices.

But the chances of anyone being arrested appear slim.

In recent weeks the army has been no match for the Rwandan-backed rebels who have captured large parts of the mineral-rich eastern DR Congo, including the region's two largest cities - Goma and Bukavu.

What's the fighting in DR Congo all about?

Who is Sultani Makenga

Your phone, a rare metal and the war in DR Congo

So President Félix Tshisekedi has instead focused on trying to build international pressure for Rwanda to face sanctions for backing the rebels.

Last year, a report by UN experts said up to 4,000 Rwanda troops were working with the M23 in DR Congo.

Thousands of people have been killed during the fighting and hundreds of thousands left without shelter after fleeing their homes.

The Congolese government is also seeking US support in exchange for access to its minerals.

DR Congo accuses Rwanda of trying to take control of its minerals, which include gold and coltan, used in consumers electronics such as mobile phones and computers.

In response to the reports that DR Congo was offering access to the minerals in exchange for military help fighting the M23 rebels, presidential spokeswoman Tina Salama said on X last month that President Tshisekedi was inviting the US "whose companies source strategic raw materials from Rwanda, materials that are looted from the DRC and smuggled to Rwanda" to instead buy them from the Congolese - the "rightful owners".

Rwanda denies looting minerals from DR Congo.

It no longer denies backing the M23 but says it is trying to prevent the conflict in DR Congo from spilling over into its own territory.

Rwanda also accuses the Congolese government of working with a different armed group in DR Congo, which is linked to those responsible for the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which some 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis were massacred.

Both the M23 and Rwanda's government are led by Tutsis.

The Congolese government denies working with the FDLR group accused by Rwanda of being a "genocidal militia".

[BBC]
More about the conflict in DR Congo:


Why the US wants to get ahead in the race for critical minerals

Ines Ferré

Senior Business Reporter
Updated Sun, March 9, 2025 


The US wants to get its hands on critical minerals — whether through a deal (now in limbo) with Ukraine or domestic production.

On Tuesday President Donald Trump teased efforts to produce more critical minerals required for everything from semiconductors to aerospace and defense.

"Later this week, I will also take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA," Trump said on Tuesday during his speech in front of Congress.

Industry watchers point to more than 50 critical minerals identified by the US Geological Survey needed for nearly every type of modern technology, with a subset of those referred to as "rare earth" minerals — essential for magnets that go into everything from consumer electronics to EVs and even electrical grids and defense hardware.

"The entire power generation system in the United States and the expansion that is required for AI and data center buildout is extremely dependent on critical minerals," said Akshay Dubey, CEO of CVW CleanTech, which has developed a technology for the production of critical minerals, including titanium and rare earths, from oil sands waste.

While the US produces significant amounts of aluminum, zinc, and magnesium, other critical minerals like cobalt, nickel, and graphite are imported from abroad. China accounts for roughly 60% of global reserves and 85% of processing capacity and has been aggressively investing in critical minerals projects for the past 20 years.

In a retaliatory move against the Trump administration's recent tariffs on China, Beijing tightened controls over the exports of critical minerals.

"The Chinese understood very early that critical minerals, including rare earths, are going to be the building blocks for most advanced manufacturing going forward," said Pini Althaus, mining executive and founding partner of Cove Capital. "The US is almost 100% reliant on China on critical minerals."

In recent years, the US has increasingly focused on developing its own critical mineral access, with the Biden administration launching a review of US critical mineral supply chain vulnerabilities. That led to incentives offered in the Inflation Reduction Act to encourage domestic production.

Getting to domestic minerals is a challenge. It can take, on average, more than 15 years to turn a deposit into an operating mine where extractions are taking place. Dubey cites lengthy permitting processes as one of the main challenges.

"The frustration for industry and the challenge for industry has been no clear path to permitting," said Dubey.

"If you're sitting as a CEO of one of these [mining] companies and you have to make a decision of whether to start investing the capital, you don't want to be in the situation where halfway through construction you have a new administration come in and they challenge the permits," said Dubey.

Any announcement this week by Trump would come on the heels of a minerals deal with Ukraine that went sideways last Friday when a meeting between President Trump and Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, turned into a shouting match. The US wants to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

On Tuesday in front of Congress, Trump said he received a letter from Zelensky saying Ukraine is "ready to sign" the minerals agreement.

Ukraine is estimated to hold roughly 5% of the world's critical mineral reserves, according to the UN.

Critical minerals in Ukraine.

The country's main critical minerals include graphite used in batteries, lithium commonly used for rechargeable batteries, titanium inside aircraft and weaponry, and uranium necessary for nuclear reactors. Ukraine is also the world’s fifth-largest producer of gallium, which is commonly found inside semiconductors.

In the agreement as it stood last Friday, the US would receive 50% of all future revenues from Ukraine's minerals, hydrocarbons, oil and gas, and other extractable materials.

Getting to all the minerals, though, may be a challenge. For example, a primary lithium resource is located in Donetsk, a region occupied by Russia.

Additionally, the extraction of rare earth minerals in Ukraine appears to be in the very early stages of development. Althaus said that it would take significant time and investment to see if the quantities available justify the costs of the extraction process.

While a deal involving Ukraine's critical minerals would be viewed as a big step, industry watchers are in a wait-and-see mode.

"This would weaken China’s monopoly over rare earths, but it would be a stretch to say that this would entirely offset China’s control," said Mark Temnycky, nonresident fellow at the think tank Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.

"It would be a start to America’s involvement in the rare earths race, however," he added.

Bucket-wheel excavators mine rare earth materials on Ukrainian soil on Feb. 25 in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. Despite the ongoing war, many mining companies across the country have continued their operations, extracting resources such as titanium, graphite, and beryllium. (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance, focusing on energy, commodities and industrials Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.


Trump wants to see more than just a minerals deal to restart aid and intel to Ukraine

Courtney Kube
Sun, March 9, 2025 

WASHINGTON — As U.S. and Ukrainian officials prepare to meet in Saudi Arabia this week, President Donald Trump has privately made clear to aides that a signed minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv won’t be enough to restart aid and intelligence sharing with the war-torn country, according an administration official and another U.S. official.

Trump wants the deal, which would give the U.S. a stake in Ukraine’s mineral resources, signed. But he also wants to see a change in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attitude toward peace talks, the officials said, including a willingness to make concessions such as giving up territory to Russia. Trump also wants Zelenskyy to make some movement toward elections in Ukraine and possibly toward stepping down as his country’s leader, the officials said.

Elections in Ukraine have been paused under the country’s constitutional provision for martial law, which has been in effect since Russia invaded in 2022.

“As President Trump demonstrated by reading President Zelenskyy’s message at the joint session, the Ukrainians have made positive movement. With meetings in Saudi this coming week, we look forward to hearing more positive movement that will hopefully ultimately end this brutal war and bloodshed,” White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said when asked about Trump’s requirements.

Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukraine in the aftermath of the U.S. pause in equipment and intelligence sharing this week, making Friday one of the deadliest days for civilians this year, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. Most of the casualties occurred in the Donetsk region, in territory controlled by Ukraine. Casualty numbers have been higher so far in 2025 than in 2024, the monitoring agency said.

The U.S. does not have any indication that the pause in intelligence sharing had a direct impact on the Russian attacks, according to the U.S. official and the administration official. They said these large attacks were likely planned before the intelligence and aid stopped.

Congressional Republicans are applying pressure on the White House to restart both aid and intelligence, and the two officials said they are optimistic the flow of weapons and equipment and sharing of intelligence could be restored as early as next week, especially after Zelenskyy pronounced that Ukraine is “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible.” The Ukrainian president also said he and his team “stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts.”

The officials said the U.S. is still sharing defensive intelligence with Ukraine — that is, information that helps Ukraine’s self-defense against attacks — explaining that they still have a duty to warn. But they are not providing targeting information against Russian targets. That means the U.S. can warn Ukraine when intelligence shows that Russians are preparing an attack, but they can no longer provide the targeting coordinates for Ukraine to strike first.

The U.S. has provided Ukraine with targeting information, satellite imagery and signals intelligence for most of the past three years. European allies are now working to bridge some of the gaps, but the lack of U.S. intelligence is already having an impact on Ukraine every day, according to a Western official.

“Every day hurts Ukraine, and every day gives Russia a more favorable position,” the official said.