Chinese Rail Group Eyes Giant Congo Copper Mine Amid Critical Minerals Race

Mintesinot Niggusie

A subsidiary of China Railway Group is seeking to develop a major copper project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that could rank among the world’s largest mines, as competition intensifies over access to critical minerals used in global manufacturing and energy supply chains.

The proposal was discussed on Thursday during a meeting between representatives of the Chinese state-backed company, known as CREC, and Louis Watum, Congo’s mines minister, according to statements issued by the ministry.

Congolese authorities said the project is expected to produce between 200,000 and 500,000 metric tons of copper annually. Output at the upper end of that range would place the operation among the world’s largest copper-producing mines.

The proposed development would be established as a joint venture between a CREC subsidiary and MIBA, the state-linked mining company, the ministry said.

Unlike most of Congo’s large-scale copper operations, which are concentrated in the mineral-rich Katanga region in the southeast, the planned project would be located in Kasai-Oriental province, an area traditionally associated with diamond production.

President Felix Tshisekedi is pushing for the project to advance quickly, according to the ministry, although authorities did not disclose a timeline or investment value.

Congo has emerged as one of the world’s most important copper suppliers over the past decade, more than tripling production to become the second-largest producer globally after Chile.

Chinese mining companies dominate much of Congo’s copper sector through investments in several large-scale projects. CREC already holds a significant stake in Sicomines, the mining venture established under Congo’s minerals-for-infrastructure agreement with China. Sicomines produced nearly 250,000 metric tons of copper last year.

The country’s largest copper mines include CMOC Group’s Tenke Fungurume operation, which produced about 519,000 metric tons of copper last year, and the Kamoa-Kakula venture operated by Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, which produced about 400,000 metric tons in 2025.

The project comes as the Tshisekedi administration expands engagement with the United States over strategic minerals. Congo signed a minerals partnership agreement with the US in December aimed at increasing American investment in deposits of copper, cobalt, lithium and tantalum.

The central African nation has become increasingly significant in efforts by Donald Trump to reduce US reliance on Chinese-controlled mineral supply chains.