Gécamines makes its return to trading with a strategic shipment to the United States

February 2026

By exercising its right of purchase on 100,000 tonnes of copper from Tenke Fungurume Mining, Gécamines is making a major shift. The Congolese public company aims to become once again a credible actor in the trading of critical minerals, in a context of geopolitical reconfiguration of global supply chains.

Gécamines is about to take a historic step by exporting, from the end of January, 100,000 tonnes of copper to the American market. Rarely has the Congolese public company been so directly involved in the international marketing of strategic metals.

This operation marks the culmination of a new doctrine driven by the former Chairman of the Board, Guy Robert Lukama, who intends to reposition Gécamines at the heart of the mining value chain.

To carry this ambition, a dedicated structure, Gécamines Trading, is being established, both in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and abroad. The stated objective: to move beyond the role of simple industrial partner to become an active trading operator, a segment abandoned for several decades.

Tenke Fungurume, pillar of commercial redeployment

The volumes concerned come from the Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) copper and cobalt mine, one of the country’s most performing assets. This joint venture, majority-owned by the Chinese group China Molybdenum Co (CMOC), grants Gécamines a 20% stake. A renegotiated agreement in 2023 now allows the Congolese side to market itself the share of production corresponding to its quota.

It is on this contractual basis that Gécamines exercised its right of purchase, opening the way to autonomous marketing of its copper.

Assumed American support

The sale of the shipment was finalised during an operation organised in early December, which involved around twenty American buyers. While the identities remain confidential, the operation benefited from significant institutional support: the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). This support is part of the strategic rapprochement between Kinshasa and Washington, formalised in December by a partnership between the presidency of Félix Tshisekedi and the American administration.

For the United States, the challenge is clear: to secure supplies of copper and cobalt, essential for the energy transition, outside circuits dominated by China.

Towards progressive scaling up

Following this first operation, Gécamines intends to replicate the model with its other industrial partners. Similar agreements have been concluded with Glencore, majority shareholder of Kamoto Copper Company, as well as with Sicomines, the emblematic Sino-Congolese joint venture.

For Sicomines, a tender for around 100,000 tonnes of copper is due to be launched in the coming weeks. In the medium term, the public company aims for an annual marketable volume of 500,000 tonnes of copper and 40,000 tonnes of cobalt. To accelerate this scaling up, Gécamines has partnered with the Swiss trader Mercuria, which provides logistical and financial support, notably through a $500 million renewable credit line.

By progressively establishing itself as the trader of its own resources, Gécamines seeks to regain control over a mining rent long captured downstream by international trading houses. The export of 100,000 tonnes of copper to the United States constitutes less an end in itself than a full-scale test. Its success will determine the credibility of the Congolese State in its desire to have greater influence on the global markets for critical minerals.

By Jeef Kazadi