DRC strikes new $7 billion mine road-financing deal with China
The Democratic Republic of Congo is set to receive $7 billion in financing as part of a revamped minerals-for-infrastructure contract with China, according to the mining company at the heart of the agreement.
The accord will give the DRC’s state-miner Gecamines a 1.2% royalty on the proceeds of a copper-cobalt venture known as Sicomines and the right to market 32% of its output, Sicomines said in a post on X. It’s “a significant step in promoting new development in cooperation between China and the DRC,” it said.
Officials from the office of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi confirmed the statement on Saturday, but didn’t comment further.
Tshisekedi has been pushing for a restructuring of a 2008 $6.2 billion contract between the countries, which he said provided little benefit to the DRC — an important producer green-energy metals. The original deal promised $3 billion in infrastructure projects paid for by proceeds from Sicomines.
While the mine has operated for years, less than a third of the development money was ever disbursed, according to the DRC’s government. The country provides about 70% of the world’s cobalt, a key battery metal, and is a major copper miner.
The new financing is “principally destined” for the construction of national roads, Sicomines said, without detailing how long it would take to distribute the funds. Congo is Africa’s second-biggest country by landmass and large parts of it are almost inaccessible.
Sicomines said its shareholding remained untouched in the renegotiations. Most recently China Railway Group Ltd. was the largest shareholder, followed by Power Construction Corp. of China, known as PowerChina, with Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co. holding 1%. Gecamines has a 32% stake.
Congo will also take a 40% stake in the Busanga hydropower plant that feeds the mine, according to the statement. The plant previously faced scrutiny, partly because of a “phantom” private company that held a stake in the project.
