The DRC is stepping up efforts to reduce bureaucratic hurdles for potential mining investors.
The country is setting up a one-stop government agency to attract more Western capital to its mining sector, reports Reuters.
The plan is linked to its minerals partnership with the US. The Strategic Partnership Agreement between the US and the DRC, signed in December 2025, gives US companies a first bite at any potential projects involving critical minerals or gold. The DRC is the world’s biggest cobalt producer and second-largest copper producer. Cobalt and copper, both essential for renewable energy technology, are considered critical minerals.
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Reuters reported that the new gency would serve not only the US and European investors but also Chinese and other investors. Legislation governing the establishment of the agency has yet to be promulgated.
China holds a large stake in the DRC’s mining sector. A recent research article estimated that in 2022 China was significantly involved in about 30 copper and cobalt mining investment projects in the DRC, contributing to more than 53% of the cobalt supply and 76% of copper supply that year.
Read more: China and the US are in a race for critical minerals. African countries need to make the rules
A government official reportedly told Reuters that the agency would initially focus on joint-venture projects worth more than US$1 billion that operate under special fiscal regimes, such as the Chinese-controlled Sicomines copper and cobalt venture.
‘The one-stop shop is intended to cut through the bureaucratic silos that have long complicated mining investment in Congo,’ said Eric Ndeh, international director of civil society group Afrewatch.
