AVZ Discussion 2022
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China faces off against US for domination of DR Congo’s critical minerals
China’s pushback includes envoy to Congo underlining Beijing’s commitment to supporting the central African country address its crises.
www.scmp.com
China faces off against US for domination of DR Congo’s critical minerals
China’s pushback includes envoy to Congo underlining Beijing’s commitment to supporting the central African country address its crises.
www.scmp.com
China faces off against US for domination of the DR Congo’s critical minerals industry
China’s pushback includes envoy to Congo underlining Beijing’s commitment to supporting the central African country address its crises
Jevans Nyabiage
Published: 6:06pm, 28 Jul 2025Updated: 6:16pm, 28 Jul 2025
After years of largely unchallenged control over the DR Congo’s critical minerals, China now faces growing US competition – a battle that Beijing is determined to win.
The US reportedly pressured the Democratic Republic of Congo last year to block a Chinese firm from acquiring Chemaf Resources.
Now, a US consortium – including firms led by ex-military executives – has bid for the operator of the Etoile copper-cobalt mine. Meanwhile, KoBold Metals, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, secured a deal with the DR Congo to explore the Manono lithium deposit, despite an ongoing legal dispute with Australia’s AVZ Minerals.
The deals come shortly after a US-brokered “minerals-for-security” agreement between the DR Congo and Rwanda, signed last month to help end the decades-long conflict in the eastern Congo. It aims to secure peace and stability, and in return the United States and its companies will gain access to critical minerals essential for the green energy transition and advanced technologies.
However, Joseph Cihunda, who teaches law at the University of Kinshasa, said the Congolese government was trying to balance relations to avoid becoming a battleground between China and the US, even if Washington sought to escalate competition.
“Even in Congolese public opinion, they do not want such a confrontation,” Cihunda said.
Despite Congo’s ongoing discussions with the US, Cihunda said President Félix Tshisekedi received Chinese officials about two weeks ago specifically to reassure them.
A miner holds a cobalt stone at a mine near Kolwezi, DR Congo. In 2024, the country produced 76 percent of the world’s cobalt, according to the US Geological Survey. Photo: AFP
“Minerals are abundant in the DR Congo and there is room for everyone, American, European and Chinese,” Cihunda said, adding that the Congolese government maintained its right to resize a research permit granted to any holder.
China, deeply entrenched in Congo’s mining sector, is pushing back, with its ambassador reaffirming Beijing’s non-interference policy and commitment to supporting the central African country.
In response to the growing US competition and the recent US-brokered Congo-Rwanda peace agreement, Beijing has sought to highlight its consistent approach to international conflicts and politics.
Speaking at Kinshasa University earlier this month, Chinese ambassador Zhao Bin addressed what he described as “discordant voices” in the public sphere that suggested China had ignored Congo while the US acted as its “true friend”.
Refuting such claims, Zhao said: “We have neither treated the DR Congo as a bargaining chip nor imposed any discriminatory measures against it.”
Outlining China’s commitment to its diplomatic principle of non-interference in internal affairs, Zhao said that Beijing had leveraged its strengths to provide Congo with practical and effective support, including military aid, economic assistance and trade cooperation. This, he said, offered strong guarantees for the Congolese side to effectively address its crises.
Sun Yun, director of the China programme at the Stimson Centre think tank in Washington, said any US-China competition over natural resources in the DR Congo was a fair one.
“The US is catching up on its critical mineral vulnerability and it will have to vigorously push for more assets and security in its supply chain,” Sun said.
The US had tremendous leverage in the region, as shown in the recent Congo-Rwanda peace deal, he added.
Last year, US officials reportedly lobbied state-owned miner Gecamines to review the sale of Chemaf to Norin Mining – a subsidiary of China’s state-owned defence company Norinco.
Chemaf is also developing Mutoshi, one of Congo’s largest pipeline copper-cobalt projects. The US consortium’s bid for Chemaf aims to bring Mutoshi under American influence, given its strategic importance for global supply chains.
These deals underscore the intensifying US-China competition for critical minerals in the DR Congo, the world’s second-biggest copper producer and largest source of cobalt, as Washington seeks to secure critical minerals for its green transition. Copper and cobalt are critical minerals used in electric-vehicle batteries and military equipment.
Congo is by far the world’s largest source of cobalt, accounting for about 70 per cent of global production, and a key source of copper and other critical metals such as tin, gold, lithium and tantalum.
Chinese companies are heavily embedded in the DR Congo’s mining sector, having secured several of the country’s key assets in the past decade as Western countries ceded many of these interests to China.
Among their acquisitions was the sale by US-based Freeport-McMoran of two of the world’s largest cobalt assets – the Tenke Fungurume mine and Kisanfu project – to CMOC, formerly China Molybdenum Co, in 2016 and 2020, respectively.
Chris Berry, head of US-based commodities advisory firm House Mountain Partners, said the view on critical minerals in Washington had significantly shifted under the Trump administration.
“Rather than a focus on ESG or ‘green growth’ the focus is now on national defence and self-sufficiency in critical mineral access,” Berry said, using the acronym for “environmental, social and governance” factors.
He noted that while onshoring as much of this as possible would obviously be ideal, the private sector was clearly now encouraged to acquire assets offshore, as evidenced by the proposed Chemaf deal.
“China has a strong presence in the DR Congo and I don’t see that abating any time soon, so the US and other Western players who want to establish a presence here will be getting much more aggressive in deal making,” Berry said.
On Congo’s dispute with Australia’s AVZ, he said all stakeholders needed to come to the table and work together on some sort of agreement.
“Manono has been a controversial asset for quite some time and clearly this disagreement only deepens that view.”
I don't really understand what is so controversial, the law is black and white - we are the only ones who haven't bent the rules. Somebody compensates us literally a fraction of the LOM value and we fuck off forever.
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KNOW BY the 31 JULY ,also we know now why LOBITO CORRIDOR, WHAT IT will be used for..imo
Manono and jump-start the project’s development. Australian miner AVZ Minerals Ltd. had previously held rights to Manono, but after little progress and legal wrangling, including arbitration, Kinshasa revoked AVZ’s permit in 2023 and has been seeking a new path forward.
Under the new agreement, KoBold Metals must apply for exploration licenses by July 31 covering over 1,600 square kilometers around Manono, and the DRC will appoint an envoy to facilitate KoBold’s acquisition of the deposit on the same timeline. In return, KoBold has pledged a large-scale mineral exploration program using its cutting-edge AI technology to scour the region for additional critical minerals. KoBold specializes in data-crunching algorithms to locate buried metal deposits; it is already hunting for copper, cobalt and nickel in Zambia and elsewhere. The Manono breakthrough dovetails with U.S. efforts to secure diversified sources of lithium and other battery metals. In June, President Trump brokered a truce in mineral-rich eastern Congo as part of a deal exchanging a ceasefire for Western investment commitments.
That accord explicitly supports the U.S.-led Lobito Corridor plan to develop transport links for Congolese minerals to Atlantic ports, aiming to create secure supply chains that lessen the region’s dependence on Chinese miners and traders.
Manono and jump-start the project’s development. Australian miner AVZ Minerals Ltd. had previously held rights to Manono, but after little progress and legal wrangling, including arbitration, Kinshasa revoked AVZ’s permit in 2023 and has been seeking a new path forward.
Under the new agreement, KoBold Metals must apply for exploration licenses by July 31 covering over 1,600 square kilometers around Manono, and the DRC will appoint an envoy to facilitate KoBold’s acquisition of the deposit on the same timeline. In return, KoBold has pledged a large-scale mineral exploration program using its cutting-edge AI technology to scour the region for additional critical minerals. KoBold specializes in data-crunching algorithms to locate buried metal deposits; it is already hunting for copper, cobalt and nickel in Zambia and elsewhere. The Manono breakthrough dovetails with U.S. efforts to secure diversified sources of lithium and other battery metals. In June, President Trump brokered a truce in mineral-rich eastern Congo as part of a deal exchanging a ceasefire for Western investment commitments.
That accord explicitly supports the U.S.-led Lobito Corridor plan to develop transport links for Congolese minerals to Atlantic ports, aiming to create secure supply chains that lessen the region’s dependence on Chinese miners and traders.
All will KNOW, IT needs to be sorted by 31 JULY ...imo
Under the new agreement, KoBold Metals must apply for exploration licenses by July 31 covering over 1,600 square kilometers around Manono, and the DRC will appoint an envoy to facilitate KoBold’s acquisition of the deposit on the same timeline.
So many know, what we have been OFFERED..imo..
Or what NIGEL has accepted...imo....
But I gather, AVZ will not go MINING...imo...
That accord explicitly supports the U.S.-led Lobito Corridor plan..!!...OMG
fucking great, have you not seen beetlejuice? You said its name 3 times and it appeared.
DR Congo Signs Mining Exploration Deal with US-Based KoBold Metals
Economy - DR Congo Signs Mining Exploration Deal with US-Based KoBold Metals - KoBold Metals is set to launch an advanced exploration plan in the Congo to identify new strategic deposits and digitize the country's geological archives.
www.focusonafrica.info
Remark
Top 20
"This move consolidates and expands upon what was already initiated two months prior when the American company acquired a stake in the Manono site from AVZ Minerals, announcing a direct investment of over one billion dollars."DR Congo Signs Mining Exploration Deal with US-Based KoBold Metals
Economy - DR Congo Signs Mining Exploration Deal with US-Based KoBold Metals - KoBold Metals is set to launch an advanced exploration plan in the Congo to identify new strategic deposits and digitize the country's geological archives.
I wonder if they've told Nigel about this yet?
Xerof
Flaming 1967
What pleases me the most in the aftermath of the successful Dathomir 10% options result is that GJ’s so-called ‘conviction’ for legally filing the share transfers no longer applies.
I know Leonard Math in particular will be delighted for his old work colleague.
Another of the corrupt road blocks put in our way smashed out of the park
I know Leonard Math in particular will be delighted for his old work colleague.
Another of the corrupt road blocks put in our way smashed out of the park
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Please AVZ S H dont need to follow others HEARSAY...imo
One would ASSUME it would be still active in the DRC if you DYOR...imo..!
The DRC court system is still active ..imo
But more to the FACTS for AVZ SH is this DEAL between the DRC and KOBOLD..!
Surely we dont need some rats to sort that matter out...imo...lol
The errors in the news media is mind blowing. For example, spot the error in the following extract from the above Focus on Africa article.DR Congo Signs Mining Exploration Deal with US-Based KoBold Metals
Economy - DR Congo Signs Mining Exploration Deal with US-Based KoBold Metals - KoBold Metals is set to launch an advanced exploration plan in the Congo to identify new strategic deposits and digitize the country's geological archives.
"This move consolidates and expands upon what was already initiated two months prior when the American company acquired a stake in the Manono site from AVZ Minerals, announcing a direct investment of over one billion dollars."
Winenut
GO AVZ!!!!
Agreed
The accuracy is about on par with Tommy fucking Richardhead's efforts at the AFR before he was summarily given the arse.....
So what is the real accuracy, BELIEVE a poster...OMG...imo
Maybe if you stick to the FACTS in regards to the DRC DEAL with KOBOLD..!
I think most genuine AVZ SH would want that answer...imo
Is the OFFER a BILLION or 1.5 BILLION...imo
I appreciate you are still reading my posts...
What I Q are you talking about the following..??...imo
Can you imagine the IQ if the rest of the applicants.
and what is even funnier is that toilet head believes if you write "imo " after a comment it shields you from any legal action for slander/defamation of character etc.
That's a very good point Xerof, but of course the corrupt pricks at the Criminal Court in Lubumbashi and the Katanga Court of Appeals, and of course the human gerbils at CAMI and Cominiere will never acknowledge or even understand the implications of that ICC decision.
Samus
Top 20
'Toad'
I think some AVZ SH have not read this company ANN....imo
July 31 deal needs to be finalized...imo...!
AVZ Minerals Limited (AVZ or Company) is aware of the signing of a framework agreement between the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (GDRC) and Kobold Metals Company (Kobold) (GDRC Kobold Agreement) which, amongst other things, purports to include a commitment by GDRC and Kobold to develop the southern section of the Manono Lithium and Tin Project (Manono Project).
July 31 deal needs to be finalized...imo...!
AVZ Minerals Limited (AVZ or Company) is aware of the signing of a framework agreement between the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (GDRC) and Kobold Metals Company (Kobold) (GDRC Kobold Agreement) which, amongst other things, purports to include a commitment by GDRC and Kobold to develop the southern section of the Manono Lithium and Tin Project (Manono Project).
What’s amazing is tolate won the tadpole race, those he beat must have been really dumb or bribery was involved.
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