Democratic Republic of the Congo President Felix Tshisekedi stands to be acknowledged during the 74th annual National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton on Thursday.Alex Wong/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump is rolling out the red carpet for Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi this week, positioning the war-ravaged African country as a central pillar in his plan to expand U.S. ownership of critical minerals.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, embroiled in a war that has killed thousands and forced millions to flee their homes in its eastern provinces, is a major producer of copper and cobalt – two of the critical minerals that Mr. Trump is targeting for U.S. acquisitions.
A commercial deal to ensure U.S. access to Congo’s mineral resources was attached to the U.S.-led peace process between Congo and Rwanda this year. The agreement is the biggest mineral deal in U.S.-Africa history, Mr. Trump told a prayer-breakfast audience in Washington on Thursday.
China controls an estimated 70 to 80 per cent of copper and cobalt mining in Congo, but Mr. Trump seems determined to break into the sector in a big way. While his much-touted peace agreements between Congo and Rwanda have failed to end the conflict in eastern Congo, he is pushing aggressively ahead on the mining side of the agreements.
U.S. seeks détente with Sahel military juntas as it pursues economic deals in West Africa
In an early win for his campaign, Swiss-based commodities giant Glencore announced this week that it has reached a preliminary agreement to sell 40 per cent of its Congolese copper and cobalt assets to the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium, in which the U.S. government is a partner.
Glencore said the transaction implies a combined value of about US$9-billion for its two Congo-based companies, Mutanda Mining and Kamoto Copper Company.
“This proposed transaction is exactly what Orion CMC was established to achieve - securing long-life, high-quality production of critical minerals while supporting resilient supply chains for the United States and its allies,” said Oskar Lewnowski, chief executive officer of Orion Resource Partners, which helped create the consortium last year.
Mr. Lewnowski said Orion could acquire more critical mineral assets in the future. The Orion consortium is backed by two state-owned investment funds: the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. and ADQ, a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates.
The copper boom in Zambia comes with a toxic price
In a separate announcement this week, Mr. Trump officially launched Project Vault, a US$12-billion domestic stockpile of critical minerals. Vancouver-based Ivanhoe Mines is in advanced discussions to contribute to the U.S. stockpile by providing zinc and other critical minerals from its Kipushi mine in Congo, according to Ivanhoe founder Robert Friedland, who attended the Project Vault announcement with Mr. Trump at the White House on Monday.
With an eye to further potential Congolese mineral acquisitions, U.S. officials heaped praise on Mr. Tshisekedi as they ushered him from meeting to meeting in Washington this week.
On Wednesday, he attended a critical minerals summit, organized by the U.S. State Department. More than 50 countries attended the event, but Congo was one of only seven African countries invited. Its rival, Rwanda, was not invited. Nor was South Africa, a long-time target for Mr. Trump’s wrath, despite its substantial mining industry.
Any decision to join U.S. critical minerals bloc will be part of USMCA talks, Anand says
Mr. Tshisekedi also met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday. They discussed the peace process and the opportunities for U.S. investment throughout Congo, the State Department said.
A day later, Mr. Tshisekedi won a coveted invitation to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast, a major annual political event in Washington, dominated this year by Trump administration officials.
Mr. Trump, the main speaker at the prayer breakfast, introduced Mr. Tshisekedi to the audience with an outpouring of praise, calling him “a great guy” and “a very brave and wonderful man” – although he appeared to forget Mr. Tshisekedi’s name during the introduction, referring to him instead as Mr. President.
“Together he and I have signed the largest minerals deal in U.S.-Africa history,” Mr. Trump told the prayer breakfast. “It’s magnificent land, it’s incredible land. Some of our big companies are going in.”
Some analysts say the Congolese leader should be careful in his dealings with Mr. Trump. The minerals deal will weaken Congo’s sovereignty, narrow its options and restrict its ability to pursue an independent economic and foreign policy agenda, according to a commentary this week in the Review of African Political Economy.