APCSC, the DRC's agency responsible for monitoring cooperation agreements between the government and private investors, and U.S. company Virtus Co LLC signed a memorandum of understanding on June 4, 2026. The document, whose contents have not been made public, was signed by the two entities' directors general, Freddy Yodi Shembo and Phil Braun.

The APCSC described the agreement as a partnership aimed at promoting geological exploration, mining project development and attracting investment. It came just two days after Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba met with a Virtus Minerals delegation led by Braun. Virtus Minerals took over Chemaf's mining assets this year under the strategic partnership signed on Dec. 4 between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the United States.

According to the mines ministry, the meeting was intended to review progress "since approval of the takeover of the Chemaf group's mining assets" as part of regular oversight by Congolese authorities. The minister specifically required the submission of a "monthly activity report" to monitor the project's progress.

That close attention reflects the significance of the assets involved. In March, Kinshasa approved Virtus Minerals' offer to take over Chemaf's operations, which include the Mutoshi copper-cobalt project in Kolwezi and the Etoile project in Lubumbashi. Planned expansions at both sites are expected to produce roughly 75,000 tonnes of copper and 20,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide per year.

Chemaf also holds approximately 60 mining titles, including around 30 exploitation permits spread across several provinces, according to the mining register as of Sept. 30, 2025.

In its June 2 communiqué, the mines ministry said Virtus reported that work on the Etoile and Mutoshi projects had resumed and was continuing. The company also reaffirmed its commitment to local development, job creation and dialogue with surrounding communities, the ministry said.

Concrete details on the restart remain sparse, however. Several months after the transaction was announced, the financial structure intended to fully revive operations has not been made public. Congolese authorities have also repeatedly stressed the need to honour commitments inherited from Chemaf, particularly toward local subcontractors and partners.

Reservations

That caution is reflected in the oversight framework established for the takeover. Beyond the mines ministry's oversight role, the APCSC's involvement signals the state's determination to maintain close watch over the project's development.

Created in March 2022 and reporting to the Prime Minister's Office, the APCSC is a public body responsible for steering, coordinating, managing and monitoring the implementation of collaboration and cooperation agreements signed between the Congolese government and private partners, particularly in basic infrastructure and natural resources.

According to the Federation of Congo Enterprises, the APCSC was created partly in response to "the lethargy observed in the implementation of the Sino-Congolese contract," under which minerals were to finance infrastructure, an arrangement widely seen as yielding an unfavourable outcome for the DRC.

Since the takeover process was launched, Kinshasa has stepped up oversight and direct discussions with the incoming operators. Between reporting requirements, monitoring meetings and now the APCSC partnership, authorities are seeking to ensure that revival pledges translate into actual investment, a sustained restart of production and compliance with commitments made.

That approach also reflects a degree of scepticism. In the Chemaf takeover, Virtus Minerals partnered with Indian group Lloyds Metals and Energy. Neither company has any significant known experience in the large-scale industrial mining of copper and cobalt in the DRC.

Virtus, founded by former U.S. military personnel, owns a small metallurgical plant in Haut-Katanga, an asset described by Africa Business+ as not comparable to the copper and cobalt mines previously operated by Chemaf.

Lloyds Metals, historically specialised in iron ore, has limited experience in copper-cobalt supply chains. In the DRC, its main exposure to those metals appears to run through its capital links with Surya Mines SARL. That company launched copper and cobalt production in 2025 at its Kitemina plant in Haut-Katanga province, with an announced annual capacity of 30,000 tonnes of copper cathodes and 5,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide.

Pierre Mukoko