Tshisekedi asks US, EU to buy key minerals from DRC

• President Felix Tshisekedi is inviting the U.S. to directly purchase critical minerals from Kinshasa, instead of buying “looted” and “smuggled” minerals from Rwanda.
• Rwanda is under immense pressure from the UN, the U.S., the EU, the UK to cease and withdraw their support for M23 rebels.
• In a 2022 update, UNEP notes that DRC has around 3.5 million metric tonnes of cobalt, making it home to one of the largest reserves of this vital resource.

The escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has taken a new twist with President Felix Tshisekedi inviting the U.S. to directly purchase critical minerals from Kinshasa instead of buying “looted” and “smuggled” minerals through Rwanda.

In a statement on Sunday, Tina Salama, who is the spokesperson of President Tshisekedi, called out Rwanda, noting that the neighboring country has for long been involved in looting and smuggling of vital mineral resources from the DRC.

The push by Kinshasa to switch off revenue taps in Kigali comes at moment when authorities in Rwanda are under immense pressure from the United Nations, the U.S., the European union, the UK to cease and withdraw their support for M23 rebels, who are fighting the DRC army.

Tshisekedi says DRC is rightful owner of minerals sold by Rwanda

“President Tshisekedi invites the USA, whose companies source strategic raw materials from Rwanda, materials that are looted from the DRC and smuggled to Rwanda while our populations are massacred, to purchase them directly from us the rightful owners,” Tina Salama posted on X (formerly twitter).

She added, “And it’s not just for the USA. The offer is also extended to Europeans and to all parties involved in sourcing smuggled, blood-stained raw materials from Rwanda.”

From diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, tin, tantalum and lithium, the DRC is home to vast volumes of critical minerals, which are in high demand across the world in the current era of green transition.

In a 2022 update, UNEP notes that DRC has around 3.5 million metric tonnes of cobalt deposits, making it home to one of the largest reserves of this vital resource.

Minerals such as cobalt and copper are critical to the electrification of energy and transport; they are used in everything from electrical vehicle batteries manufacturing to the manufacture of solar panels and wind turbines.

With these vast reserves, DRC is a vital player in the world push to decarbonization transition, an initiative that should see Kinshasa earn good returns including foreign direct investments, revenue growth and the potential to create green-energy related jobs.

However, massive exploitation of the country’s critical resources, coupled with decades of conflict and instability continues to breed negative consequences, such as the destruction of critical ecosystems, pollution, loss of lives and the creation of toxic climate for investors.

Last week, the 15 member UN Security Council called on the Rwanda Defence Forces to stop supporting M23 rebel group and to immediately withdraw from DRC territory “without preconditions.” The global powers also asked Rwanda “to return without preconditions to diplomatic talks as a matter of urgency to achieve a lasting and peaceful resolution of the protracted conflict in the region.”

Read also: The war in Goma: Is Rwanda attacking DRC to seize mineral-rich city?

U.S. Sanctions on Rwanda

These calls came during a week in when the U.S. Department of State slapped sanctions on Rwanda’s Minister of State for Regional Integration James Kabarebe noting that he was “central to Rwanda’s support” for the M23 rebels.

“With Rwanda’s support, it [M23 rebels] has also threatened, injured, killed, and displaced thousands of innocent civilians, cost the lives of three UN peacekeepers and wounded several others,” Tammy Bruce, Department Spokesperson noted.

“Today’s action underscores the need for Rwanda to return to negotiations under the Angola-led Luanda Process to achieve a resolution to the conflict in eastern DRC.  The United States calls on the leaders of Rwanda to end their support for M23, itself already designated by both the United States and the UN, and withdraw all Rwandan Defense Force troops from DRC territory.  We call on Rwanda to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC,” the U.S. Department of State explained.

With these sanctions imposed on Rwanda and on M23 through James Kabarebe and Lawrence Kanyuka, DRC’s Tina Salama noted that sourcing “raw materials also known as conflict minerals from Rwanda will become increasingly compromising and complicated.”

The offer by President Tshisekedi was first extended to the USA because what had been hidden and maintained for 30 years has just been revealed by the President Donald Trump’s administration, Salama added.

Read also: The $78M AfDB fix taking child labourers off DRC’s cobalt mines to schools