The suspension, announced last week, comes as the US backs start-up KoBold Metals – funded by tech billionaires including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos – to acquire AVZ’s stake in Manono.
If successful, KoBold will pledge US$1 billion (7.2 billion yuan) to develop the project, countering China’s Zijin Mining, which controls the northern section after Congo revoked AVZ’s rights in 2023. However, KoBold is a relatively small entity compared to CMOC Group, CNMC, and other Chinese mining companies in the African country.
AVZ said in a statement last week that “the United States Government has encouraged the parties to take whatever steps are necessary to allow for a climate conducive to discussions leading to a meaningful settlement between the DRC and AVZ”.
The move signals Washington’s growing efforts to secure critical minerals in Congo, directly challenging China’s dominance in the country over control of critical minerals such as lithium and copper, vital for the global green energy transition.
Congo is advancing negotiations on a proposed “minerals-for-security” deal with the US, which has offered to help broker peace between Congo and Rwanda to stabilise the mineral-rich eastern region.
