The American administration insists on the sale of Congolese copper and cobalt producer Chemaf SA to a consortium led by the American company Virtus Resources Group. This is reported by foreign media.
The consortium also includes the American hedge fund Orion and the Indian conglomerate Lloyds Metals. Other interested bidders include the private Congolese company Buenassa and Global Critical Resources Corp.
The sale negotiations are taking place in a difficult environment, as several parties have the right to veto any deal to acquire Chemaf, including the owners, the Government of Congo, which owns 5%, and Trafigura as a key creditor after providing a loan of $600 million in 2022 for the modernization of the Etoile mine and the Mutoshi project, which It was designed to produce 16 thousand tons of cobalt and 50 thousand tons of copper per year.
Currently, Chemaf produces less than 20,000 tons of copper per year at the Etoile mine, which is a small fraction of the global volume. After completing the $300 million Mutoshi project expansion program, which will have to be funded by any new owner, the company can become one of the world's largest cobalt producers.
At the same time, the Trump administration is considering the deal in terms of strengthening relations with Congo under the minerals agreement signed in December 2025.
China's dominance in mineral supply chains has become a key factor in U.S. intervention in the sale of Chemaf Resources to China's Norin Mining, a subsidiary of Norinco, amid growing competition between the United States and China for control of minerals needed for infrastructure construction and defense technology development.
In December 2025, the United States and Congo signed an agreement granting American investors preferential access to some rich mineral reserves, including copper, tantalum, cobalt and lithium. The Congo has become an important element of the US administration's plans to weaken China's control over the supply chains of key minerals.
Chemaf is leasing a license from the Congolese mining company Gecamines to develop the flagship Mutoshi copper project. Chemaf also develops the Etoile copper quarry and holds licenses for several deposits. Investors include commodity trader Trafigura.
Earlier, Gecamines offered to buy out Chemaf for $1 million, restructure Chemaf's debt obligations, which reached $900 million, and then transfer most of the shares to a new investor. Under the terms of the proposed deal, Gecamines will sell Chemaf products to American customers and own 5% of the company's shares, with a possible increase to 20%.
Congo provides about 75% of the world's cobalt production, used in electric vehicles and the defense industry. The Congolese government partially lifted the ban on cobalt exports from mid-October 2025 with the introduction of quotas at 97 thousand tons in 2026 and 2027.
Chemaf is a specialized company for the exploration, development and extraction of minerals in the Congo. Chemaf is developing the Etoile copper quarry and holds licenses for several deposits. The headquarters is located in Kinshasa (Congo).
Gecamines is a mining company and its associated mining complex in Katanga Province (Congo). With a length of up to 300 km and a width of 70 km, the complex is mainly used for mining copper and cobalt ores.
Virtus Resources is an American investment company founded by veterans of the American security and intelligence services. The headquarters is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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