The Democratic Republic of Congo will send its first copper consignment to the United States under a partnership with Mercuria Energy Group Ltd., a step aligned with Washington’s push to diversify supply chains for critical metals, Bloomberg reported.

State miner Gecamines said on Monday that the shipment will consist of 100,000 tons of copper drawn from its 20 percent share of production at the Tenke Fungurume mine, operated by CMOC Group Ltd. The copper comes from projected 2026 output and will be sold to US end users through Gecamines Trading, which is fully owned by the Congolese company. Mercuria will provide financial, logistical, and technical support for the venture.

The partnership, first announced in October, forms part of a broader strategy under which Gecamines aims to secure long-term sales rights for up to 500,000 tons of copper and 40,000 tons of cobalt annually. The US International Development Finance Corp. has signed a letter of intent to explore a financial stake in the project, giving American buyers first refusal on the materials sold.

Congo is the world’s second-largest copper producer and hosts the richest cobalt deposits used in batteries. Chinese companies, including CMOC, currently dominate the extraction and processing of these metals, while the Congolese government has offered Washington access to mining and infrastructure projects in return for support in quelling a rebellion backed by neighbouring Rwanda, Bloomberg added.

Mercuria, led by Kostas Bintas, a former co-head of metals at Trafigura Group, is expanding its metals business as prices for copper and cobalt rise. Trade data highlight the strategic imbalance: in 2024, China traded nearly 28 billion US dollars worth of goods with Congo, compared with 1.6 billion US dollars in trade with the United States, according to Bloomberg.