{"id":136559,"date":"2026-06-23T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T10:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/trump-gets-major-win-against-china-in-african-rare-earth-minerals-race-136559"},"modified":"2026-06-23T06:00:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T10:00:20","slug":"trump-gets-major-win-against-china-in-african-rare-earth-minerals-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/trump-gets-major-win-against-china-in-african-rare-earth-minerals-race-136559","title":{"rendered":"Trump gets major win against China in African rare earth minerals race"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In what\u2019s being hailed as a major win for the Trump administration against Chinese domination of the rare earth minerals market, the U.S. has supported an American company, Virtus Minerals, in developing two major mines producing cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).<\/p>\n

This is claimed to be the first U.S. rare earth minerals acquisition<\/a> in the African\u00a0nation\u00a0since President Trump announced the Washington Accord last December.<\/p>\n

Historically, China has been the heavy lifter of these metals. The Strategic Studies Institute reported that 80% of the world\u2019s cobalt is produced in the DRC \u2014 and 80% of that is controlled by China. Cobalt, used in a wide range of applications, from electric cars and mobile phones to military jets, is on the U.S. government\u2019s list of critical minerals. Copper, also on the list, has traditional uses such as piping for plumbing, but is also needed in electronics and the automotive industry.<\/p>\n

During December\u2019s signing at the White House, Trump made clear the administration\u2019s fight\u00a0to curb Chinese domination of minerals and help American mining companies make a major impact in the DRC. “A great day for Africa, a great day for the world,” Trump said. \u00a0The accord also aims to bring an end to fighting between the DRC and<\/a> Rwandan-backed forces,\u00a0<\/strong>although the Rwandan-supported M23 rebel group have continued their hostile infiltration in the\u00a0Eastern DRC.<\/p>\n

American mining company Virtus is, with U.S. support, claiming to be “the first U.S.-owned operator back in the DRC in more than a decade”, with its investment in Chemaf, a local cobalt and copper producer with two mining operations, one, \u00c9toile, in Lubumbashi and Mutoshi, in Kolwezi. Together it\u2019s planned the mines will produce a combined 75,000 tonnes of copper, and 20,000 tonnes of cobalt a year. The processing plants are currently under development and will come online next year.<\/p>\n

The minerals will ultimately be exported to the west through the Lobito Corridor to a port in Angola. Lobito is the rail route\u00a0the U.S. has backed with a $5 billion investment commitment, with, according to a Virtus statement, “the aim of obtaining a secure, auditable copper and cobalt supply chain for the U.S. and its allies.”<\/p>\n

THE WEST STILL DOESN\u2019T GRASP THE DANGER OF CHINA\u2019S RARE EARTH ENDGAME<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Frans Cronje, president of the Washington-based Yorktown Foundation for Freedom, says the Virtus projects are significant because they show the administration is seriously trying to change the balance in a minerals battle with China.<\/p>\n

He told Fox News Digital, “This development signals a more assertive United States effort to compete with China for access<\/a> to Africa\u2019s critical mineral base, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where cobalt and copper are strategically vital to global energy and defense supply chains.”<\/p>\n

Cronje added, “China has built deep structural dominance across much of Africa\u2019s resource sector over the past two decades, but U.S.-backed initiatives such as this suggest a shift towards more direct engagement, rather than relying on Chinese-controlled supply routes. This matters because Africa\u2019s vast resource endowment, combined with its geostrategic position along key Atlantic and Indian Ocean corridors, makes it central to future global economic and security competition.”<\/p>\n

A State Department<\/a> spokesperson told Fox News Digital,\u00a0“President Trump and Secretary Rubio remain firmly committed\u00a0to supporting U.S. companies that\u00a0seek\u00a0to do business in the DRC.”<\/p>\n

AFRICAN WAR-TORN NATION INVOKES TRUMP \u2018GOLDEN AGE’ FOR MINERALS DEAL IN EXCHANGE FOR BOOTING VIOLENT REBELS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“The United States government fully supports the efforts of Virtus Minerals,” the spokesperson continued.\u00a0“This acquisition serves as\u00a0an initial\u00a0flagship U.S. investment in the DRC,\u00a0and sends a clear signal\u00a0that the U.S. private sector interest is real and will catalyze further investment in alignment with the U.S.-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement, which positions the DRC to play an integral role in the Trump Administration’s global efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

The spokesperson added, “increased U.S. investment will create quality jobs for American and Congolese workers, foster skills development and support local communities that have long been exploited by the opaque systems constructed and perpetuated by adversarial foreign actors who have controlled the DRC’s critical minerals sector.”<\/p>\n

Virtus holds 56 mining licenses in total\u00a0in the DRC.<\/strong>\u00a0Phillip Braun, Virtus Minerals CEO and Chemaf chairman, told\u00a0Fox News Digital, “our first goal is to bring the \u00c9toile and Mutoshi plants up to full production. From there, we will explore everything Chemaf’s 56 mining permits have to offer \u2014 copper, cobalt and other metals like tungsten.”<\/p>\n

“None of this would be possible,” Braun added, “without the strong partnership now growing between the United States and the DRC, and the support of leaders in both countries who saw what was possible. We look forward to bringing our two nations closer by building a steady, trusted supply of the minerals we depend on and supporting other American companies that want to invest in the DRC any way we can.”<\/p>\n

“A more active U.S. presence in these supply chains,” Cronje continued, “would mark a significant rebalancing of influence on the continent, with implications not only for resource access but for broader geopolitical alignment in regions that are becoming increasingly contested.”<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital reached out to the DRC government for comment, but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/world\/trump-gets-major-win-against-china-african-rare-earth-minerals-race <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In what\u2019s being hailed as a major win for the Trump administration against Chinese domination of the rare earth minerals market, the U.S. has supported […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-136559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTrump gets major win against China in African rare earth minerals race - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/trump-gets-major-win-against-china-in-african-rare-earth-minerals-race-136559\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump gets major win against China in African rare earth minerals race - 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