The USTDA funding will support a prefeasibility study for a proposed hydrometallurgical refinery in Lualaba Province….reports Africa Daily News Desk
The US Trade and Development Agency has awarded up to $3.385 million to support a prefeasibility study for a proposed copper and cobalt refinery in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The funding to Buenassa Resources S.A. will support plans for a hydrometallurgical refinery in Lualaba Province, according to the DRC Embassy in Washington.
The project is being presented as part of the strategic partnership between the DRC and the United States, with a focus on critical minerals, local processing and the development of industrial value chains.
The first phase of the proposed refinery is expected to have the capacity to produce 30,000 metric tonnes a year of LME Grade A copper cathodes and 5,000 metric tonnes a year of contained cobalt. The design is also intended to allow for future expansion.
The prefeasibility study will assess a range of technical, economic and environmental factors. These will include ore characterisation, metallurgical testing, process selection, preliminary plant design, energy and water requirements, infrastructure, financial analysis, environmental considerations and regulatory requirements.
The DRC government has sought to increase domestic processing of its mineral resources rather than relying primarily on exports of raw materials. The Buenassa project is intended to support that approach by processing copper and cobalt within the country.
According to the embassy, the project could also contribute to technical skills development, job creation and the growth of industries linked to critical minerals.
The USTDA supported study will also examine opportunities for US companies to participate in the project. This includes identifying potential American suppliers of technology, equipment and services required for the refinery.
It will also assess potential international markets for the refinery’s products, including possible US buyers and opportunities for offtake agreements.
The DRC Embassy described the USTDA funding as a concrete step in the implementation of the strategic partnership between the two countries, particularly through investment and industrial development.
The project is part of the DRC’s wider ambition to strengthen its role in global critical minerals supply chains while increasing the amount of processing and value addition carried out domestically.
