THE Democratic Republic of Congo has dispatched its inaugural copper consignment to the US through an arrangement with Mercuria Energy Group, said Bloomberg News.
The shipment comes as Washington seeks to diminish Chinese control over critical mineral supplies, the newswire said.
State-owned Gecamines announced Monday it would deliver 100,000 tons of copper derived from its 20% interest in CMOC Group’s Tenke Fungurume operation. Gecamines Trading is acquiring the metal from Tenke’s 2026 production and marketing it to American buyers under a strategic accord established with Washington in January.
The central African nation, which ranks as the globe’s second-largest copper producer and possesses the world’s most abundant cobalt reserves, has granted the US entry to mining and infrastructure ventures in return for assistance in suppressing a Rwanda-supported insurgency. Chinese enterprises including CMOC presently control Congolese copper and cobalt extraction and refinement.
Mercuria, which revealed the collaboration last October, is aggressively enlarging its metals operations under Kostas Bintas, previously co-head of metals at competitor Trafigura Group. The Swiss trader provides financial, logistical and technical backing to Gecamines Trading, which the state miner wholly controls.
Gecamines intends eventually to secure marketing rights for up to 500,000 tons of copper and 40,000 tons of cobalt annually from its holdings. The US International Development Finance Corporation has signed a preliminary agreement to explore taking an equity position in the venture, which would afford American purchasers priority access to materials.
Trade statistics reveal China conducted $28bn in commerce with Congo during 2024, whilst US-Congo trade totalled merely $1.6bn.
