Congo Tells US to Turn Mineral Privileges Into Real Investment

Congo's economy minister has told Washington that the US–Congolese strategic minerals partnership must be judged by projects delivered, not agreements signed, after a Paris steering committee meeting ended with no new American investment announced.

Daniel Mukoko Samba delivered that message on Thursday after the second meeting of the partnership's joint steering committee, where officials reviewed the Lobito Corridor, the proposed Grand Inga hydropower complex and efforts to direct more Congolese minerals toward American markets.

"Our requirement is to move from signed agreements to real investments," Mukoko Samba said, adding that the partnership must support mineral processing, electricity access and employment inside Congo.

According to Reuters, Congolese officials also pressed for technology and skills transfers, compliance with domestic mining laws and greater involvement by American investors. The pressure is deliberate: Kinshasa wants Washington to demonstrate that America's pursuit of critical minerals will deliver measurable benefits for the country supplying them.

What does the minerals agreement actually give the US?

Washington and Kinshasa signed the strategic partnership on December 4, 2025, covering critical minerals, infrastructure, energy and investment. It gives US companies preferential opportunities to compete for assets in Congo's Strategic Asset Reserve and for projects selected by the Congolese government.

The terms stop short of automatic ownership. An American company receives a right of first offer on a mine, and where a US investor submits a proposal, the parties may negotiate for up to nine months before Congo seeks bids from other aligned investors. American buyers also get the first opportunity to negotiate for some minerals marketed for export.

The stakes are considerable. Congo is the world's largest cobalt producer and its second-largest copper producer, and both metals feed electric vehicles, power networks and electronics. China controls much of the processing infrastructure around these supply chains, and the partnership forms part of Washington's effort to secure alternative sources for American manufacturers.

For Congo, the test is whether Western interest produces factories, reliable electricity and jobs — or simply redirects raw mineral exports from one foreign market to another.

How big is the Lobito railway component?

The Lobito Corridor ranked among the principal projects discussed in Paris. In August, Congo granted Portuguese construction company Mota-Engil Africa a 30-year concession covering rehabilitation, modernisation, operation and maintenance of the 1,004-kilometre Dilolo–Sakania railway.

The Congolese presidency put the required investment at $1.258 billion. The line connects Congo's copper-producing centres — including Kolwezi, Tenke and Lubumbashi — to Angola's railway network and the Atlantic port of Lobito, offering copper and cobalt shippers a direct Atlantic export route.

Congo will hold at least 10% of the project company and receive a royalty equal to 7.5% of annual gross revenue. The concessionaire must finance the undertaking and assume its traffic risk without a Congolese sovereign guarantee. The $1.258 billion figure is the indicative cost of the railway concession, not a newly announced US allocation.

Separately, the US International Development Finance Corporation has provided a $553 million loan to support the Lobito Atlantic Railway in Angola, covering another component of the wider corridor.

Can Grand Inga move beyond World Bank money?

Officials also reviewed the Grand Inga hydropower programme, which Congo wants to use to power households, mines and domestic mineral-processing facilities. Only around 21% of Congo's population has access to electricity, according to the World Bank, despite the country's enormous hydropower potential.

In 2025, the World Bank approved an initial $250 million credit as the first phase of a planned $1 billion Inga 3 programme. That money supports studies, project preparation, local infrastructure, skills development and communities near the Inga site — and it is World Bank financing, not a new American commitment.

Inga 3 could eventually generate between two and 11 gigawatts, but the World Bank has said its complexity means preparation and construction could take around a decade. The Paris talks advanced US–Congolese coordination around Grand Inga, yet neither Washington nor its development finance agency announced a fresh dollar commitment afterward.

Is there a deal already on the ground?

The partnership has produced at least one significant physical mining transaction. US-based Virtus Minerals and Indian steelmaker Lloyds Metals and Energy acquired Congolese copper and cobalt producer Chemaf through a joint venture, paying $30 million to Chemaf's shareholders and assuming roughly $900 million in debt, according to earlier Reuters reporting. The new owners plan to restart full production in 2027.

That deal hands Washington an early foothold in Congo's mineral industry, but Kinshasa's latest message is that one acquisition cannot define the partnership. Congo wants functioning mines, better transport infrastructure, local processing capacity, power generation and employment — and future steering committee meetings will show whether American capital follows the preferential access it has been granted.