American investors are "strongly interested" in a project to set up a cobalt refinery in Lualaba province, southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Mines Minister Kizito Pakabomba made the statement after a roundtable held on September 23, 2024, in New York. The meeting was organized by the Foreign Policy organization and Buenassa, the government's partner in the Lualaba refinery project.

During the roundtable, participants talked about the sustainability and resilience of supply chains for minerals essential to the global energy transition. The president of the US Export-Import Bank was present. 

"It is in the interest of this country (the United States) to secure its supply of critical minerals," said Congolese Minister of Mines, Kizito Pakabomba.

The meetings in New York followed the recent Battery Forum held on September 17-18, 2024. During that event, Minister Kizito announced that the DRC was close to producing its first battery from local mining resources. However, he acknowledged that significant investments are still needed in infrastructure such as roads and energy to attract more investors.

Commenting on the project in February, Eddy Kioni, Managing Director of Buenassa, said it “will play a crucial role in developing an integrated value chain around battery and electric vehicle manufacturing, in line with the government's commitment to responsible industrialization and green economic development.”

The cobalt refinery project has received a $3.5 million grant from the DRC government through the Fonds de promotion de l'industrie (FPI). This grant is the first installment to prepare for the project's completion. Buenassa, the government’s partner in the project, has engaged with development finance institutions like the African Development Bank and Afreximbank through support from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Buenassa expects the refinery to come online by the end of 2027, with an initial production target of 30,000 tonnes of copper cathodes and 5,000 tonnes of cobalt sulfate per year.

Georges Auréole Bamba