KINSHASA, May 8 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo could become home to one of the world’s largest copper mines under a proposal by a subsidiary of China Railway Group, as global competition for critical minerals accelerates.
The Chinese state-backed company, known as CREC, met with Congolese Mines Minister Louis Watum on Thursday to discuss a project expected to produce between 200,000 and 500,000 metric tons of copper annually, according to statements released by the ministry.
If developed at the upper end of projected capacity, the mine would rank among the world’s largest copper operations.
Congo has rapidly expanded its copper production over the past decade, more than tripling output to become the world’s second-largest supplier of the industrial metal after Chile.
Chinese mining companies currently dominate much of the country’s copper sector, although the United States has been seeking to strengthen its position in Congo’s critical minerals industry as competition with China intensifies.
Unlike most of Congo’s major copper mines, which are concentrated in the southeastern Katanga region, the proposed project would be located in Kasai-Oriental province, the centre of the country’s diamond industry.
According to the Congolese mines ministry, the development would be structured as a joint venture between a CREC subsidiary and MIBA.
President Felix Tshisekedi is pushing for the project to move forward quickly, the ministry said, though no timeline or investment value was disclosed.
Congo’s largest existing copper operations include CMOC Group’s Tenke Fungurume mine, which produced about 519,000 tons of copper last year, and the Kamoa-Kakula venture operated by Ivanhoe Mines and Zijin Mining, which produced roughly 400,000 tons in 2025.
CREC already holds a major stake in Sicomines, the mining venture established under Congo’s long-running minerals-for-infrastructure agreement with China. Sicomines produced nearly 250,000 tons of copper last year.
The development comes as the Tshisekedi administration deepens engagement with Washington over critical minerals. Congo signed a minerals partnership with the United States in December aimed at giving American investors greater access to deposits of copper, cobalt, lithium and tantalum.
The central African nation has become increasingly important to efforts by President Donald Trump to reduce US dependence on Chinese-controlled mineral supply chains.
