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LINK:
https://x.com/KiengeKki/status/2014304643380068536?s=20
KIKI KIENGE
@KiengeKki
Translated from French
#Minning-RDC-USA Short-list of strategic mineral assets handed over by the DRC to the United States, the Manono
#lithium crystallizes tensions. Kiki
#Kienge In January 2026, when the DR Congo submits to the United States a short-list of strategic mining assets open to American investments under the Washington Agreement, the gesture is highly political. Officially, these are projects belonging to public companies and deemed available. Unofficially, the maneuver aims to rebalance a sector long dominated by Chinese groups. Among the proposed assets are projects for: - Copper and cobalt, with Gécamines; notably the
#Mutoshi project, in Lualaba, the historic heart of the Congolese copper belt. (Project ex
#Chemaf). - Manganese, gold and cassiterite, Kisenge manganese; in licenses located around
#Kisenge. (Kisenge local portfolio). - Germanium, via industrial facilities linked to Gécamines, a discreet but crucial metal for semiconductors and fiber optics. (Gécamines via subsidiaries Société du Terril de Lubumbashi. Commercial/technical partnership with Umicore. - Coltan and tungsten, via Sakima, critical minerals for electronics and aeronautics. (Kivu/Rubaya and other areas). - Lithium, presented generically as "lithium licenses held by Cominière." (Cominière S.A. permits without further details). - Gold, with Sokimo's gold permits, 4 permits cited. But one site draws all the attention: Manono, in Tanganyika province. Manono hosts one of the world's largest hard-rock lithium deposits (spodumene). Long marginalized after the tin era, the site has regained strategic importance with the rise of electric batteries. Studies published by the Australian
$AVZ Minerals highlight colossal resources, comparable to major Australian projects. Even if Manono does not appear explicitly in the list handed over to Washington by the Congolese authorities, the "lithium licenses" mentioned inevitably refer to this perimeter, as it dominates the Congolese lithium landscape, the south of Manono, a project undermined by legal disputes. It is in the southern part of the deposit that the difficulties begin.
@AvzMinerals accuses the Congolese state of having irregularly withdrawn and reassigned its rights, notably for free to the Chinese of ZIJIN the northern part of the deposit. AVZ has initiated international arbitration proceedings. In parallel, Kinshasa has sought new partners, notably American ones, like KoBold Metals, while maintaining relations with Chinese groups, including Zijin Mining. Result: an exceptional deposit, but persistent legal insecurity, with several actors claiming competing rights. A test for the Congolese mining strategy. For Washington, the interest is clear: securing lithium supplies outside of China. For Kinshasa, the stakes are more delicate; Manono symbolizes both the country's immense mining potential and its institutional fragilities. As long as the disputes around the south of Manono are not definitively resolved, Congolese lithium will remain a risky bet for the Americans and the DRC, despite geological riches that make the global industry dream.
@KoBold_Metals
@CadastreMinier
@LouisWKabamba
@US_SrAdvisorAF
7:50 PM · Jan 22, 2026
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