Mercuria Energy Trading has signed a three-year deal to source copper from Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The agreement, announced in a statement issued on October 30, 2025, includes a pre-financing facility of up to $100 million from Mercuria to ERG.

Details such as the loan’s interest rate, copper volumes, and pricing terms have not been disclosed. Off-take agreements of this kind are often viewed with suspicion by the Congolese government and state mining company Gécamines, which argue their interests are not always protected. Both are recipients of mining tax revenues and minority shareholders in several joint ventures, and have repeatedly demanded the right to market their production share directly.

The deal enables Mercuria to strengthen its supply from the DRC, following agreements reached in late 2024 and March 2025 to secure half of Gécamines’ copper entitlement from the Tenke Fungurume mine. Gécamines holds a 20% stake in TFM, which has annual production exceeding 450,000 tons.

ERG, 40% owned by the Kazakh state, is one of the DRC’s major copper producers. Through its subsidiaries Frontier and Metalkol, it sold 120,176 tons of copper in 2024, according to official data. Production could rise in the coming years, as ERG controls several other projects previously stalled by disputes with the government or Gécamines, including the Swanmines project, now set to resume after a settlement reached in September.

Mercuria said the financing aims to support the development of ERG’s operations in the DRC while strengthening the group’s trading portfolio and financial flexibility.

Founded in Geneva in 2004, Mercuria is one of the world’s leading commodities and energy trading firms. The DRC is “a region of growing strategic relevance,” said Kostas Bintas, the company’s Global Head of Metals and Minerals.

The DRC was the world’s second-largest copper producer in 2024, behind Chile, with output of 3.1 million tons. Demand for the metal continues to surge, fueled by the energy transition and artificial intelligence.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global copper supply could fall short by 40% by 2035, a looming deficit that has helped lift prices nearly 20% over the past year, with futures trading around $11,500 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

Pierre Mukoko & Ronsard Luabeya