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DR Congo is set to send the US its first shipment of copper through a new venture backed by commodity giant Mercuria, as Kinshasa tries to broaden its pool of mining partners beyond Beijing.
Under a new contract announced on Monday DR Congo’s state miner Gécamines will ship 100,000 tons of copper from its Chinese-run Tenke Fungurume mine to the US market. The move follows the signing of a strategic partnership between Washington and Kinshasa last month “to advance economic and resource security.”
Gécamines said efforts to prioritize the US as a market was part of a push to “regain its sovereignty” over DR Congo’s mineral output, after decades in which marketing was mainly handled by foreign third parties such as commodities traders Glencore and Trafigura, alongside Chinese buyers and smelters.
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China has long been the main destination for DR Congo’s copper: In 2024, Kinshasa shipped 1.48 million tonnes of refined copper to the country. Congolese officials have framed the US minerals deal as adding options rather than swapping partners, with Deputy Prime Minister Daniel Mukoko Samba insisting: “We’re not saying we open the door to one and close it to another.”
That “more options” line now has a commercial vehicle. Mercuria, a Swiss commodities trader, and Gécamines have set up a copper-and-cobalt trading venture. In a Dec. 5 statement, the US development finance agency DFC framed its interest as part of securing US critical-mineral supply chains and also flagged a separate potential project tied to the Dilolo–Sakania rail link, part of the Lobito corridor.
Step Back
The US–DR Congo strategic partnership is built around a simple lever: That Kinshasa’s state entities use minority stakes and contractual marketing rights to steer export volumes toward US buyers. The deal urged the creation of a joint steering committee to set offtake targets and guidelines, and push “right of first offer” clauses for US firms on designated assets and on marketed minerals destined for export — with routing via the Sakania–Lobito corridor where appropriate.
Washington is leaning on contract leverage because it can’t easily outbid China on mine ownership: Tenke Fungurume was once controlled by US miner Freeport-McMoRan before being sold to China’s CMOC in 2016.
There remains a stark trade gap between the US and China when it comes to DR Congo: In 2024, DR Congo’s trade with China came to around $28 billion, versus about $1.6 billion with the US.
Notable
- DR Congo has defended its minerals deal with the US, saying “we are not selling our resources for nothing.”