The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) wants to buy back some of its copper-cobalt mining assets as the government tries to gain more control over the key green metal, Bloomberg reported. These assets include some owned by Eurasian Resources Group (ERG).
Eurasia Resources Group is a Kazakhstan-backed miner and major cobalt producer with dozens of mining and exploration licenses in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Congolese government and Gecamines, the state-owned mining company, say Eurasia is developing too slowly.
Congolese President Tshisekedi's office said in a letter sent to ERG shareholders that Gecamines told Eurasia Resources Group in June it wanted to take over a stake in ERG.
The offer did not include ERG's key Metalkol copper-cobalt tailings project or Frontier copper mine, and the letter did not mention a price.
It is the latest attempt by DRC and Gecamines to regain control of the vast mineral deposits used to produce batteries for electric vehicles.
Although the DRC provides 75 percent of the world's cobalt and is a major copper producer, most Congolese mines are foreign-owned.
Relations between the Congolese government and miners have also been strained by issues such as environmental damage and a lack of local investment.
ERG did not confirm whether Gecamines had offered to buy its assets or whether the company was interested in selling its assets.
"ERG is in talks with its representatives or certain affiliates in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the aim of maintaining a mutually beneficial partnership," the company said in a statement this month.
Gecamines is already trying to take control of one of ERG's undeveloped copper and cobalt assets.
ERG's interests in DRC also include 18 licences close to the Zambian border and control of leases on multiple tailings sites that could contain more than 2.5 million tonnes of copper and nearly 230,000 tonnes of cobalt.
Many of DRC's mineral deals were struck more than a decade ago, when the country was struggling to secure financing after years of war. Now the Congolese government is pushing for better terms.
The Congolese government began enforcing laws requiring businesses to implement community development programs and curb environmental damage.
ERG's Boss Mining, in which Gecamines has a stake, suspended operations in May for at least three months due to environmental concerns.
In a July letter to ERG shareholders, President Tshisekedi's office referred to Gecamines' June offer to buy assets, saying the company had failed to deliver on investment promises of "billions of dollars" last year.
ERG said in its annual report that it renegotiated, modified or terminated more than $1 billion in credit lines with Russian banks last year following sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine. But it plans to invest $2 billion in the Democratic Republic of Congo over the next two years.
ERG also agreed this month to a community development plan for its Comide Copper-cobalt project, which has been in the care and maintenance phase. Work to prepare for future operations should begin before the end of the year, the company said.
