'Peace-maker' Trump gets hands on mineral wealth
Publish date: 08 December 2025
Issue Number: 1155
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: General
The vast minerals wealth of the DRC was central to the deal, brokered by the US in Washington, to secure peace in the region, as Africa's rich resources come under increasing focus of the Trump administration, notes Legalbrief. As part of its middleman role in the DRC, Rwanda peace process – now under threat again – President Donald Trump said on Thursday the US had signed agreements with both countries to access critical, rare-earth minerals, which are central in battery production, reports TRT Afrika. This after Presidents Felix Tshisekedi (DRC) and Paul Kagame (Rwanda) signed what Washington termed a ‘permanent ceasefire’ agreement in Washington DC. According to the US President, the ‘biggest American companies’ will be sent to both countries to take part in the mining processes. The conflict in eastern DRC has lasted more than 30 years and has particularly been catalysed by unending disputes over mineral resources. Eastern DRC, which has more than 100 armed groups according to the UN, is rich in copper, cobalt, tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold, among other important minerals. However, africanews, reports the eastern DRC is once again descending into chaos, following the peace deal. Thousands of people are on the move, fleeing the intense fighting. Men, women and children, carrying their belongings, are leaving their villages in South Kivu, a forced exodus as clashes between the Congolese army and M23 rebels intensify. On Saturday, thousands of Congolese fled under the relentless pounding of bombs. This surge in violence comes just days after a glimmer of hope. Thursday's agreement was meant to ease tensions and restore peace in eastern DRC. but has now been reduced to ashes on the ground, as the Congolese Armed Forces and M23 accuse one other of violating a ceasefire that clearly never held.
The US is in talks to provide more than $1bn for two critical minerals and railway projects in central Africa as it seeks to secure supplies deemed crucial for national security. Mining-com says the US International Development Finance Corp plans to support a new copper and cobalt venture between the DRC’s Gecamines SA and Mercuria Energy Trading, as well as a rail project linking Congo and other central and southern African nations to Angola’s coast. ‘These projects will help to secure vital supply chains, expand private sector opportunity, and strengthen America’s global competitiveness, while supporting peace, prosperity, and dignity in central Africa,’ DFC chief executive officer Ben Black said. Trump has made securing minerals that are crucial for military and high-tech applications one of his priorities, with several deals with African countries emerging. Chinese companies dominate the mining and processing of many of these metals, and Washington is looking to loosen the Asian powerhouse’s stranglehold over the trade. The DFC announcement follows the signature on Thursday of a strategic infrastructure and minerals partnership between Congo and the US. Switzerland’s Mercuria and Gecamines announced their copper and cobalt trading tie-up on Friday. ‘The partnership would grant US end users a right of first refusal, providing US industries with access to critical minerals essential for economic growth and competitiveness,’ Gecamines said about the possible DFC investment. Under the US-Congo strategic partnership, Congo has committed to shipping more of its minerals west toward the Atlantic Ocean over Angola’s Lobito railway corridor. Currently most of Congo’s exports move south or east along the road or railway.
On Thursday, Trump hailed the US-brokered Rwanda, DRC peace deal as a new chapter for the region, according to Al Jazeera. ‘It is an amazing day: great day for Africa, great day for the world and for these two countries,’ Trump said. The agreement was originally reached in June. shisekedi and Kagame had met in Qatar in March, initiating the talks that led to the deal. Thursday’s ceremony finalised the accords. The agreement had raised hopes of ending the conflict in the DRC, where the March 23 Movement (M23), a Rwanda-backed armed group, has been advancing deeper into the resource-rich east of the country. Rwanda’s main grievance with the DRC focuses on accusations that the central african country has been harbouring ethnic Hutu militias linked to the 1994 Rwanda genocide, which targeted the country’s Tutsi population. The Trump-backed peace deal stipulates that Rwanda will end its support for M23 and the DRC will help ‘neutralise’ Hutu militias – namely, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. It also requires both countries to respect each other’s territorial integrity, notes Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, Mozambican civil society has called for the urgent creation of a national strategy for critical minerals, warning that the country still lacks a specific legal framework, despite its globally significant position in graphite production, essential for the energy transition, Club of Mozambique reports. ‘It is urgent to formulate a national strategy for critical and strategic minerals and also modern, inclusive and balanced legislation that safeguards national sovereignty, attracts responsible investment and also maximises social and economic benefits for our country,’ said Osman Cossing, programme co-ordinator at the Institute for Multiparty Democracy, in Maputo. Cossing said, at the National Conference on Critical Minerals, that Mozambique has resources ‘of high global relevance’, but operates without a national strategy to guide investment, ensure the traceability of minerals and position the country in the international supply chain for the green economy. Cossing said the country produces around 75 000 tonnes of graphite – used in the production of batteries for electric cars – per year and has confirmed reserves of lithium, tantalum, niobium and titanium in provinces such as Cabo Delgado, Nampula, Zambézia and Manica. According to Cossing, the laws currently in force, such as the mining law and the petroleum law, were conceived in a context dominated by hydrocarbons and ‘today do not fully respond to new international requirements for traceability, sustainability, decarbonisation and the balancing of interests in a highly competitive market’. The conference, organised by Mozambican civil society associations and international partners, brings together Parliament, provincial assemblies, government, the private sector, academia and community organisations.
In Mali, the government is determined to reap the profits of lucrative mining. The country has recovered 761bn CFA francs ($1.2bn) in arrears from mining companies after a sweeping audit, its Finance Minister said. It marks one of the country’s largest recoveries from its extractive sector, reports Business Insider Africa. The military-led government launched a comprehensive audit of the mining industry in early 2023, uncovering major financial shortfalls for the state and prompting the roll-out of a new mining code. The revised law increased royalties, expanded the state’s ownership stakes in mining ventures, and eliminated long-standing stability clauses, Reuters reported. A recovery commission was created after auditors Inventus and Mozar identified irregularities and estimated revenue losses of between 300bn and 600bn CFA francs. The sector overhaul also sparked a two-year dispute with Canadian miner Barrick Gold, Mali’s biggest gold producer, before a settlement was reached in November. Other operators, including B2Gold, Allied Gold, Resolute Mining, Endeavour Mining, and lithium producers such as Ganfeng and Kodal, have already settled their arrears and transitioned to the new regulatory framework.
