Gécamines plans to sell part of the copper output from Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) to the United States through its new trading subsidiary, Gécamines Trading. TFM is 80% controlled by China’s CMOC.
The Congolese state miner said it has decided, for the first time, to exercise its contractual right to buy the share of production linked to its 20% stake in the mine and resell it to U.S. buyers. It put the volume at 100,000 tonnes for 2026.
“This first marketing operation represents an expansion of the competitive bidding system for output from Gécamines’ partnerships, a system introduced in 2023 and successfully implemented since then,” Guy-Robert Lukama, chairman of Gécamines’ board, said in a statement.
Gécamines said the decision to market the production share from its joint ventures is intended to address transfer-pricing practices used by some operators. Under such practices, output is sold at below-market prices to related entities, reducing dividends paid to Gécamines and mining revenues for the state.
The company said the strategy should lead to better pricing of Congolese minerals, higher tax revenues and a broader base of buyers, strengthening the country’s commercial independence.
“We welcome this first operation, which follows more than a year of work to strengthen the Democratic Republic of Congo’s position in global raw materials markets and to assert the state’s sovereignty over its mineral resources,” said Placide Nkala Basadilua, Gécamines’ chief executive, in the statement.
In the longer term, the state-owned company aims to secure sales rights of up to 500,000 tonnes of copper and 40,000 tonnes of cobalt, underlining its ambition to re-establish itself as a global player in critical minerals.
Strategic agreement
Before exercising its purchase right, Gécamines said it carried out a market consultation in late 2025. Several U.S. buyers agreed to purchase the 100,000 tonnes of copper at the end of the process under terms the company described as favourable.
Copper prices surged in 2025, rising 44% to a record $12,960 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange. Analysts expect momentum to remain strong in 2026.
The transaction also allows the DRC to implement commitments under a strategic agreement signed with the United States in Washington on Dec. 4, 2025. Under the agreement, “the DRC and its public enterprises will use their marketing rights linked to participation and contracts to provide offtake access to American and allied persons.”
The mechanism requires Gécamines, or any other state-owned company, to offer its marketable volumes to U.S. companies before other buyers, provided commercial terms are comparable and aligned with international prices.
The deal is being carried out by Gécamines Trading, a joint venture with Geneva-based Mercuria Energy Trading. The venture markets copper, cobalt and other critical minerals, including germanium and gallium, produced in the DRC.
The project is backed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corp (DFC). The agency said it has issued a letter of intent for an equity investment in the joint venture, aimed at securing U.S. supply chains for strategic minerals.
Pierre Mukoko
