Chinese state-owned conglomerate China Minmetals Corporation (CMC) is seeking to deepen its footprint in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining sector, exploring new permit acquisitions and technical cooperation as Kinshasa pushes for greater local value addition in one of the world’s most resource-rich countries.
The move comes as the central African nation looks to strengthen its role in the global supply chain for copper and cobalt, minerals essential for electric vehicles, batteries and the broader energy transition.
Congolese authorities said the company’s intentions were discussed during a meeting held in Beijing on March 24 between Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba and executives from China Minmetals, one of China’s largest metals and mining groups.
According to the ministry, the discussions focused on expanding the group’s operations in Congo through new mining permit acquisitions and possible technical cooperation with the country’s national geological service to help identify untapped mineral deposits.
The talks reflect the Congolese government’s effort to shift the sector away from a model centered mainly on raw mineral exports and toward one that generates more local processing, jobs and domestic participation across the value chain.
During the meeting, Watum outlined Congo’s strategic priorities, including geological exploration, local transformation of mineral resources, sustainable job creation and stronger Congolese participation in mining-linked industries.
Officials described the engagement as part of a broader push to attract “productive investment” capable of supporting industrial development rather than simple extraction.
China Minmetals already has a major presence in the DRC through its indirect controlling stake in MMG, the mining company that operates the Kinsevere mine in Haut-Katanga province, around 30 kilometres north of Lubumbashi.
Kinsevere has long been a significant copper-producing asset, but the site is undergoing a major expansion designed to add copper sulfide and cobalt processing, broadening its strategic importance in Congo’s mining landscape.
The expansion project was approved in March 2022 and carries an estimated cost of between US$550 million and US$600 million.
At full capacity, the upgraded operation is expected to produce around 80,000 tonnes of copper cathode annually as well as between 4,000 and 6,000 tonnes of cobalt, according to official figures.
The project received a further boost in December 2023, when Top Create Resources Limited, an entity linked to China Minmetals, provided US$300 million in financing to support the development.
MMG completed the mechanical phase of the Kinsevere expansion in September 2024, and the mine has since been in a ramp-up phase.
The company had initially targeted 2025 copper cathode output of between 63,000 and 69,000 tonnes, but production fell short of that goal.
MMG reported 52,791 tonnes of copper output in 2025, still representing an 18 percent year-on-year increase as the new facilities gradually came online.
Analysts say the underperformance highlights the technical and operational challenges often associated with bringing large-scale mining expansions to full production, especially in countries where infrastructure and logistics remain difficult.
Even so, the Kinsevere project remains a central pillar of China Minmetals’ long-term ambitions in Congo, where access to high-grade copper and cobalt resources is increasingly strategic amid surging global demand for battery metals.
The DRC is already the world’s largest producer of cobalt and one of the top copper producers globally, making it indispensable to supply chains linked to renewable energy and electrification.
For Congo, however, the challenge has long been how to convert that mineral wealth into broader economic gains.
By pushing foreign investors toward processing, technical cooperation and local integration, authorities hope to ensure future mining deals generate more domestic value and help lay the groundwork for industrialization.
China Minmetals’ latest overtures suggest that Beijing-backed groups remain eager to expand in Congo—but increasingly on terms that align with Kinshasa’s more assertive development agenda.
