By Ange Kasongo
KINSHASA, Jan 20 (Reuters) – The Democratic Republic of Congo has sent Washington a shortlist of state-owned assets – including manganese, copper-cobalt, gold and lithium projects – for U.S. investors to consider as part of a minerals partnership, two senior Congolese officials said.
The list, delivered to United States officials last week, represents Washington’s most tangible progress in converting peace and investment deals with Congo into influence over the country’s critical-minerals supply chain, the sources said.
Since President Donald Trump brokered a pact between Congo and Rwanda to ease tensions in the mineral-rich east, U.S. agencies have accelerated efforts to secure strategic metals.
The U.S. Development Finance Corporation has signed a minerals marketing partnership with state miner Gecamines and backed the $553 million Lobito Corridor upgrade.
The officials did not give any figure for the value of the state-owned assets on the shortlist.
SEVERAL ROUNDS OF INTERNAL VETTING
Congo’s asset shortlist has gone through several rounds of internal vetting, the Congolese officials said, and represents Kinshasa’s most direct offer yet to Washington for U.S. investors to evaluate. The officials asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.
Contacted by Reuters, the Congolese government and the U.S. Department of State had no immediate comment.
U.S. efforts to secure critical mineral supplies globally have intensified as it races to reduce reliance on China.
China is the world’s biggest consumer of commodities and also dominates the refining of copper, lithium, cobalt and rare earths, processing between 47% and 87% of strategic minerals, according to the International Energy Agency.
Chinese companies active in Africa include CMOC, the world’s largest exporter of cobalt, mainly from Congo, and also Zijin and Huayou that export copper from Congo.
The first source said Congo will offer to investors the assets the state-owned companies hold that are not already committed under farm-outs or joint ventures.
The second source said everything was being done in compliance with Congolese laws.
The shortlist includes Kisenge’s manganese, gold and cassiterite licences, Gecamines’ Mutoshi copper-cobalt project and germanium-processing venture, Sokimo’s four gold permits, Cominiere’s lithium licences, and Sakima’s coltan, gold and wolframite assets, the two sources said.
JOINT STEERING COMMITTEE FOR AMERICAN INVESTORS
One of them said the consolidated list had been presented to a Joint Steering Committee for American investors, a joint body, with representatives from Congo and the U.S., that has been set up to implement the minerals pact.
The sources said the next steps were for the joint committee to organise a first meeting and begin the process of implementing the partnership and negotiating contracts.
A document sent by Kinshasa to the U.S. State Department, seen by Reuters, lists Congo’s high-level team on the joint committee as Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Daniel Mukoko Samba, the foreign affairs, mines and finance ministers, and the head of the minerals regulator ARECOMS.
Gecamines and Sokimo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mutoshi, Sakima and Cominiere were not immediately available for comment.
(Writing by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Editing by Veronica Brown, Robbie Corey-Boulet and Barbara Lewis)
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