US-backed group seeks major stake in DR Congo mining sector

Glencore has announced a potential multi-billion-dollar divestment in its copper and cobalt operations to the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium

The Anglo-Swiss multinational Glencore has agreed to sell a 40% stake in two of its copper and cobalt projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) to a US government-backed investment group. The deal comes as Washington intensifies efforts to secure access to minerals vital to advanced manufacturing, renewable energy technologies, and national defense supply chains.

In a statement on Tuesday, Glencore said it has entered into a non-binding agreement for the potential sale of the stakes in its Mutanda Mining (Mumi) and Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) assets in the African state to the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium (Orion CMC).

The company said the deal values Mumi and KCC at a combined enterprise value of about $9bn, while Glencore would retain operational control.

“Through this partnership, we would be able to support the ambitions of the US government and private sector with the supply of two critical minerals,” Glencore CEO Gary Nagle stated.

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Orion CMC was established in October 2025 and is led by Orion Resource Partners in partnership with the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Its creation followed a peace agreement earlier that year, mediated by US President Donald Trump, between Rwanda and the DR Congo to end decades of violence in eastern Congo.

The accord set out a regional economic framework linked to US-backed investment in the country’s cobalt, coltan, and other critical minerals – an area where Western media and analysts say Washington is seeking to curb China’s dominance.

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The head of the DFC has said the proposed partnership could strengthen US–DR Congo economic ties, help “secure a reliable source of critical minerals” for the US and its partners, and support economic growth and stability in the DR Congo.

Glencore has operated in the DR Congo, the world’s leading producer of cobalt, for more than two decades and is one of the country’s largest industrial mining companies. It has, however, faced allegations from non-profit groups over pollution in the copper belt, including concerns about wastewater and contamination near Kolwezi.

The company has also pleaded guilty to bribery charges in the US and has faced a tax penalty of nearly $900 million in the DR Congo.