Trump gets major win against China in African rare earth minerals race

In what’s being hailed arsenic a large triumph for the Trump medication against Chinese domination of the uncommon world minerals market, the U.S. has supported an American company, Virtus Minerals, successful processing 2 large mines producing cobalt and copper successful the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

This is claimed to beryllium the archetypal U.S. uncommon world minerals acquisition successful the African nation since President Trump announced the Washington Accord past December.

Historically, China has been the dense lifter of these metals. The Strategic Studies Institute reported that 80% of the world’s cobalt is produced successful the DRC — and 80% of that is controlled by China. Cobalt, utilized successful a wide scope of applications, from electrical cars and mobile phones to subject jets, is connected the U.S. government’s database of captious minerals. Copper, besides connected the list, has accepted uses specified arsenic piping for plumbing, but is besides needed successful electronics and the automotive industry.

President Donald Trump attends a signing ceremonial with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi astatine the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace successful Washington connected Dec. 4, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP)

During December’s signing astatine the White House, Trump made wide the administration’s fight to curb Chinese domination of minerals and assistance American mining companies marque a large interaction successful the DRC. "A large time for Africa, a large time for the world," Trump said.  The accord besides aims to bring an extremity to warring betwixt the DRC and Rwandan-backed forces, although the Rwandan-supported M23 rebel radical person continued their hostile infiltration successful the Eastern DRC.

American mining institution Virtus is, with U.S. support, claiming to beryllium "the archetypal U.S.-owned relation backmost successful the DRC successful much than a decade", with its concern successful Chemaf, a section cobalt and copper shaper with 2 mining operations, one, Étoile, successful Lubumbashi and Mutoshi, successful Kolwezi. Together it’s planned the mines volition nutrient a combined 75,000 tonnes of copper, and 20,000 tonnes of cobalt a year. The processing plants are presently nether improvement and volition travel online adjacent year.

Virtus Minerals CEO and Chamaf Chairman. Phillip Braun, the Chargé d’Affaires U.S. Embassy Kinshasa Ian J. McCary, and Chemaf Managing Director Sooryanarayanan Prabhakaran cutting the ribbon of the caller mine. (Virtus Minerals / Chemaf)

The minerals volition yet beryllium exported to the westbound done the Lobito Corridor to a larboard successful Angola. Lobito is the obstruction route the U.S. has backed with a $5 cardinal concern commitment, with, according to a Virtus statement, "the purpose of obtaining a secure, auditable copper and cobalt proviso concatenation for the U.S. and its allies."

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Frans Cronje, president of the Washington-based Yorktown Foundation for Freedom, says the Virtus projects are important due to the fact that they amusement the medication is earnestly trying to alteration the equilibrium successful a minerals conflict with China.

He told Fox News Digital, "This improvement signals a much assertive United States effort to vie with China for entree to Africa’s captious mineral base, peculiarly successful the Democratic Republic of Congo, wherever cobalt and copper are strategically captious to planetary vigor and defence proviso chains."

The U.S. and DRC flags alert extracurricular Chemaf's tract successful Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Virtus Minerals / Chemaf)

Cronje added, "China has built heavy structural dominance crossed overmuch of Africa’s assets assemblage implicit the past 2 decades, but U.S.-backed initiatives specified arsenic this suggest a displacement towards much nonstop engagement, alternatively than relying connected Chinese-controlled proviso routes. This matters due to the fact that Africa’s immense assets endowment, combined with its geostrategic presumption on cardinal Atlantic and Indian Ocean corridors, makes it cardinal to aboriginal planetary economical and information competition."

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "President Trump and Secretary Rubio stay firmly committed to supporting U.S. companies that seek to bash concern successful the DRC."

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Chemaf's tract successful Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Virtus Minerals / Chemaf)

"The United States authorities afloat supports the efforts of Virtus Minerals," the spokesperson continued. "This acquisition serves as an initial flagship U.S. concern successful the DRC, and sends a wide signal that the U.S. backstage assemblage involvement is existent and volition catalyze further concern successful alignment with the U.S.-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement, which positions the DRC to play an integral relation successful the Trump Administration's planetary efforts to unafraid captious mineral proviso chains."

The spokesperson added, "increased U.S. concern volition make prime jobs for American and Congolese workers, foster skills improvement and enactment section communities that person agelong been exploited by the opaque systems constructed and perpetuated by adversarial overseas actors who person controlled the DRC's captious minerals sector."

Cobalt and Copper mined from Chemaf's Etoile tract successful Lubumbashi, DRC. (Virtus Minerals / Chemaf)

Virtus holds 56 mining licenses successful total in the DRC. Phillip Braun, Virtus Minerals CEO and Chemaf chairman, told Fox News Digital, "our archetypal extremity is to bring the Étoile and Mutoshi plants up to afloat production. From there, we volition research everything Chemaf's 56 mining permits person to connection — copper, cobalt and different metals similar tungsten."

"None of this would beryllium possible," Braun added, "without the beardown concern present increasing betwixt the United States and the DRC, and the enactment of leaders successful some countries who saw what was possible. We look guardant to bringing our 2 nations person by gathering a steady, trusted proviso of the minerals we beryllium connected and supporting different American companies that privation to put successful the DRC immoderate mode we can."

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"A much progressive U.S. beingness successful these proviso chains," Cronje continued, "would people a important rebalancing of power connected the continent, with implications not lone for assets entree but for broader geopolitical alignment successful regions that are becoming progressively contested."

Fox News Digital reached retired to the DRC authorities for comment, but did not person a response.