The Democratic Republic of Congo and its Chinese investors have announced a new agreement for their Sicomines copper and cobalt joint venture, as revealed in a statement on Saturday.
The deal involves Chinese investors injecting up to $7 billion into infrastructure projects.
The agreement stipulates the retention of the current shareholding structure, and the Chinese partners, which include Sinohydro and China Railway group, will annually pay 1.2% of royalties to Congo, according to the statement.
Congo holds the title of the world’s largest cobalt producer, a crucial element in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones. Additionally, it stands as the third-largest global producer of copper and possesses substantial deposits of lithium, tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold.
Chinese companies have significantly asserted their dominance in the Congolese mining sector, particularly in copper and cobalt mining.
