The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is looking for U.S. investors in the mining sector as a way to break China’s dominance over the country’s reserves of cobalt, copper and other critical minerals. However, the DRC’s struggles with violence and weak governance make this seem like a risky proposition — but it doesn’t have to be. USIP’s Thomas Sheehy, Gécamines’ Guy-Robert Lukama and USIP Senior Study Group on Critical Minerals in Africa member Anthony Carroll explain how the United States can build mutually beneficial partnerships with countries like the DRC that address, rather than worsen, regional instability and serve U.S. economic and security interests.

Type: Blog

After decades of poor governance, ethnic tensions and illegal resource exploitation in the mineral-rich eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwandan-backed rebels’ capture of Goma “has the potential to bring … seven countries into [the] conflict” and ignite a wider regional war, says USIP’s Joseph Sany.

Type: Podcast

On January 27, Rwandan-backed rebels known as  M23 captured Goma, the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), despite the presence of U.N. peacekeeping force, defense forces from other African countries, local militias, and European mercenaries hired to block its advance. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in M23’s advance into Goma, including the provincial military governor. Roughly 500,000 people fled their homes, adding to the more than two million people displaced by the long-standing conflict.

Type: Question and Answer

Demand for critical minerals is expected to skyrocket in the decades ahead. These minerals — such as copper, cobalt and lithium, among others — power the electronics we use every day and are essential for transitioning to greener energy technologies. The U.S. is increasingly working with African partners to develop the continent’s abundant critical minerals, an effort that is vital to advancing U.S. economic and national security interests. It also will have major implications for African countries: How these critical minerals are developed will significantly impact the continent’s economic future and beyond, even affecting peace and stability. This increasing U.S. policy focus comes against the backdrop of intensifying U.S. geopolitical competition with China, which dominates many African mining sectors.

Type: Analysis