The US Trade and Development Agency will fund a pre feasibility study for a planned copper and cobalt refinery in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Lualaba Province….reports Africa Daily News Desk
A US government agency has agreed to fund a pre feasibility study for a planned copper and cobalt refinery in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Lualaba Province. The project aims to strengthen local mineral processing and support the DRC’s ambition to become a major hub for critical minerals.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has secured US government support for a planned copper and cobalt refinery in Lualaba Province, in a move aimed at expanding the country’s mineral processing capacity.
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has signed an agreement with Congolese mineral processing company Buenassa Resources S.A. to finance a pre feasibility study for the proposed facility.
The refinery is expected to produce copper and cobalt products used across the energy, construction, artificial intelligence and defence industries.
The study will assess potential sources of raw materials for the refinery, develop its technical design and establish the economic and financial requirements for its construction and long term operation.
The project comes as the DRC seeks to increase the amount of processing carried out within the country rather than exporting minerals in less processed forms.
The DRC is the world’s largest producer of cobalt and Africa’s leading copper producer. It is also the world’s second largest copper producer after Chile.
Thomas R. Hardy, USTDA’s deputy director, said the partnership would expand access for US companies to critical mineral supply chains while strengthening ties between Washington and Kinshasa.
“Copper and cobalt are two of the most vital minerals to ensuring the U.S. remains a global leader in the technology and defense sectors,” Hardy said.
The planned refinery is also linked to wider efforts to develop mineral processing and industrial activity along the Lobito Corridor, a major transport route connecting the mineral producing regions of the DRC and neighbouring Zambia with the Angolan port of Lobito.
DRC Industry Minister Justin Kalumba said the country wanted to become a global centre for critical mineral beneficiation.
“The Buenassa refinery is a concrete response to that ambition, anchoring industrial development from the Lobito Corridor to Atlantic markets and beyond,” Kalumba said.
He described the agreement with USTDA as reflecting the strength of the US DRC Strategic Partnership and said the government was committed to the project’s success.
Buenassa chief executive and founder Eddy Kioni said the company’s partnership with USTDA would help establish the foundations for the refinery and strengthen supply chains for industries including defence, aerospace and energy.
The completion of the pre feasibility study could pave the way for the next stages of the project, including construction and operation of the refinery.
USTDA said those stages could create opportunities for US companies involved in mineral processing to supply equipment and technical expertise.
The project is part of growing efforts to develop critical mineral supply chains involving the DRC, which holds significant deposits of minerals considered important to the global energy and technology sectors.
For the DRC, the proposed refinery represents an opportunity to add greater value to its mineral resources domestically while supporting industrial development in Lualaba Province.
