{"id":303,"date":"2025-09-05T15:48:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:48:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mining\/?p=303"},"modified":"2025-09-05T15:48:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T19:48:38","slug":"congo-and-critical-minerals-what-are-the-costs-of-americas-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/mining\/2025\/congo-and-critical-minerals-what-are-the-costs-of-americas-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"Congo and critical minerals: What are the costs of America\u2019s peace?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by: Evelyn Namakula Mayanja<\/span><\/p>\n

In March 2025, President F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offered the country\u2019s critical mineral reserves to the\u00a0United States and Europe<\/a>\u00a0in exchange for security and stability.<\/p>\n

At the time, the March 23 (M23)\u00a0militia insurgency<\/a>\u00a0was unleashing violence: killing civilians, committing sexual violence, displacing communities and looting mineral resources. Since 1996, eastern Congo has been engulfed in wars and armed conflicts driven by regional powers and more than\u00a0120 armed groups<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The U.S.-brokered\u00a0peace agreement<\/a>\u00a0between Rwanda and the DRC raises critical questions: Is this a genuine path to sustainable peace, or a continuation of U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s strategy to secure access to critical minerals through coercive diplomacy?<\/p>\n

Global arms race for critical minerals<\/h2>\n

The global shift toward renewable energy, digital infrastructure and military modernization has sparked a geopolitical scramble for critical and rare earth minerals.<\/p>\n

In early 2025, Trump signed a series of executive orders that introduced aggressive and imperial-style tactics to\u00a0secure access to mineral wealth<\/a>. He\u00a0threatened Canada<\/a>\u00a0with annexation and tariffs,\u00a0demanded access to Greenland\u2019s resources<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0linked U.S. support for Ukraine<\/a>\u00a0to access to its mineral reserves.<\/p>\n

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The DRC\u2019s offer must be viewed through this lens of global resource competition.<\/p>\n

Congo\u2019s critical mineral wealth<\/h2>\n

The DRC holds some of the world\u2019s richest deposits of critical minerals and metals. A 2012 article estimated the value of Congo\u2019s untapped mineral wealth at US$24 trillion, a figure nearing the U.S.\u00a0first-quarter 2025 GDP<\/a>\u00a0of $29.962 trillion.<\/p>\n

The DRC\u00a0produces 70 per cent<\/a>\u00a0of the world\u2019s cobalt,\u00a0ranks fourth in copper<\/a>, sixth\u00a0in industrial diamonds<\/a>\u00a0and also possesses vast reserves of nickel and lithium, including the\u00a0Manono deposit<\/a>\u00a0expected to yield 95,170 tonnes of crude lithium.<\/p>\n

But the struggle to control these resources has fuelled a\u00a0cycle of armed violence<\/a>, displacement and exploitation. Despite\u00a0several peace agreements<\/a>, peace and stability remain elusive.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s interests in Congo<\/h2>\n

U.S. involvement in Congo stretches back to the Cold War, when it played a role in the\u00a01961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba<\/a>, Congo\u2019s first elected prime minister who sought economic sovereignty.<\/p>\n

In 1996, the U.S. was accused of backing Rwanda and Uganda in the initial invasion of eastern Congo. A U.S. diplomat, \u201cMr. Hankins,\u201d\u00a0was quoted in Goma saying<\/a>: \u201cI am here \u2026to represent American interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2024, President Joe Biden met Tshisekedi to advance the\u00a0Lobito Corridor<\/a>, a strategic trade route to counter China\u2019s dominance in the region. Chinese companies currently control around 80 per cent of Congo\u2019s copper market.<\/p>\n

When Trump signed the 2025 peace agreement, he\u00a0openly stated<\/a>\u00a0the U.S. would gain \u201ca lot of mineral rights \u2026 foreign trade and investment from the regional critical mineral supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Miners work at the D4 Gakombe coltan mining quarry in Rubaya, Democratic Republic of Congo, in May 2025. (AP Photo\/Moses Sawasawa)<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S.-brokered peace deal<\/h2>\n

The deal, however, prioritizes America\u2019s access to minerals over the well-being of Congolese citizens. Historically, Congo\u2019s mineral wealth has enriched\u00a0elites and foreign powers<\/a>\u00a0while leaving its people impoverished and vulnerable. The new agreement could entrench existing inequalities and inflame tensions further.<\/p>\n

The U.S. has also\u00a0cut off aid<\/a>\u00a0for war survivors, including emergency medical kits and antiretrovirals for rape victims, undermining humanitarian efforts.<\/p>\n

Crucially, the agreement overlooks:<\/p>\n