Congolese mining and processing firm Buenassa is seeking financial backing to acquire copper and cobalt producer Chemaf, a strategic asset in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral-rich Katanga region, as competition intensifies with state-owned miner Gécamines, its chief executive said.
Buenassa chief executive Eddy Kioni said that the company was pursuing financing for the acquisition following talks with Michael Kayembe, the newly appointed head of United Bank for Africa (UBA) in the DRC. A source close to Buenassa said the asset targeted is Chemaf, whose future has drawn close scrutiny because of its role in the race for critical minerals used in electric vehicles and energy storage.
Bloomberg has reported that Buenassa formally notified its interest in Chemaf in November. The mining company owns copper and cobalt assets in southeastern Congo, including the Mutoshi project near Kolwezi, and is currently burdened by heavy debt.
For Buenassa, acquiring Chemaf would be a cornerstone of its strategy to build an integrated mining and processing business in the DRC. Kioni said the deal would allow the company to accelerate vertical integration from extraction through refining, trading and strategic storage, while securing feedstock for its planned refinery for more than two decades.
The acquisition would also transform Buenassa from a greenfield industrial project into an operator with producing assets, strengthening operational resilience and improving its ability to finance large-scale infrastructure. “This would shift Buenassa from a planned facility into a fully integrated mining player,” Kioni said.
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Buenassa’s industrial approach contrasts with rival interest from Gécamines, the state-owned mining company. According to Bloomberg, Gécamines is considering acquiring Chemaf with the intention of reselling it, while retaining a minority stake of up to 25%. Through its subsidiary Gécamines Trading, the company would then market its share of production to the United States, in line with commitments made by the Congolese government under a strategic minerals agreement signed with Washington in December.
Buenassa’s bid aligns more closely with the government’s policy drive to promote local processing and value addition, rather than exporting unrefined minerals. Details of Buenassa’s offer have not been made public. Gécamines, however, is said to be considering a bid of just under $1 million, followed by an audit and a plan to restructure Chemaf’s debts, which media reports estimate at around $900 million.
A significant portion of that debt is reportedly owed to commodities trader Trafigura, which arranged a $600 million loan in 2022 to finance development of the Mutoshi mine.
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Securing a producing mining asset is widely seen as critical to Buenassa’s own refinery project, which is still at an early stage. Ownership of a mine would provide collateral and long-term supply, strengthening the project’s bankability. So far, Buenassa has secured only a $3.5 million public grant from the Industry Promotion Fund, used to carry out a scoping study.
That study estimates the cost of the first phase of the refinery at about $700 million. In this phase, the plant would produce 30,000 tonnes of copper cathodes and 5,000 tonnes of cobalt sulphate per year. A second phase, estimated at $2 billion, would expand capacity to 120,000 tonnes of copper and 20,000 tonnes of cobalt annually, though the figures remain subject to further studies.
Buenassa’s revised timetable foresees completion of a pre-feasibility study in early 2026 and a full feasibility study in the second quarter of 2027. Financial close is targeted for the third quarter of 2027, while production is now expected to begin in 2029, later than an earlier estimate of 2027.
To fund both the refinery and the potential acquisition, Buenassa is pursuing a multi-layered financing strategy involving African commercial banks, regional development finance institutions, local lenders, international strategic partners led by the United States, and the Congolese state. Since June 2025, the government has held a 10% stake in the Buenassa Ressources project company.
Competition for Chemaf remains intense. Gécamines chairman Guy-Robert Lukama said in late 2024 that the state miner would not allow rivals to take control, according to Reuters. Gécamines holds the mining permit under which Chemaf is developing Mutoshi, giving it significant leverage. The Congolese government, which owns Gécamines outright and also holds minority stakes in Buenassa and Chemaf, will have the final say.
Some analysts point to a possible partnership between Gécamines and Buenassa, potentially involving U.S. interests, as a pragmatic outcome that could advance the DRC’s ambition to build domestic copper and cobalt value chains while reinforcing its strategic ties with Washington.
