US turns its critical minerals gaze over to Africa

Away from the headlines around the minerals deal with Ukraine, the United States has pursued a potentially even more significant critical metals deal in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

- Andy Home

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo reached out to the Donald Trump administration with a Ukrainian-style proposal in February in response to the rapid advance of the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group in the east of the country.

The US government has responded enthusiastically with a flurry of negotiations aimed at ending a decades-long conflict born out of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The political momentum is building towards a potential peace deal between Congo and Rwanda as soon as May, to be accompanied by bilateral minerals deals between both countries and the United States.

At stake are the mineral riches of North and South Kivu provinces, a major but highly problematic source of metals such as tin, tungsten and coltan.

The M23 rebels seized control of Goma and Bukavu, eastern Congo's two largest cities, in February. By early March, they had advanced rapidly westwards to Walikale, the location of the Bisie tin mine.