The United States has secured access to one of the world’s richest tantalum deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo, marking a significant shift in the contest over critical minerals that underpin global technology industries. The agreement centres on the Manono region and the Rubaya mining area, both pivotal to tantalum supply.
Tantalum is used in smartphones, semiconductors, electric vehicles and military electronics, making it a strategic component in advanced manufacturing. According to officials cited in the report, Rubaya was included on a shortlist presented during a February 5 meeting in Washington between Congolese and US representatives, advancing a strategic minerals partnership agreed in December. The initiative forms part of a broader US engagement aimed at supporting mining investment and supply chain development while reducing Western reliance on China, the dominant processor of critical minerals.
Congo holds the world’s largest cobalt reserves alongside significant deposits of tantalum, lithium and copper. Rubaya alone contains several thousand metric tonnes of coltan with tantalum concentrations of 20 to 40 per cent and accounts for around 15 per cent of global coltan output. However, the site remains under the control of AFC/M23 rebels. A United Nations report last year estimated the group collects at least $800,000 per month from taxes on Rubaya’s coltan production and trade, with organised smuggling networks operating into Rwanda.
Washington’s strategy links mineral development with diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Congo and Rwanda, whose rivalry has fuelled violence in the country’s eastern regions. US officials have encouraged peace talks alongside economic agreements designed to unlock substantial mining investment and weaken illegal trafficking networks that finance armed groups.
For the United States, expanded access to Congolese minerals strengthens supply chains for defence, electronics and clean energy industries while countering China’s influence in African mining. For Congo, the partnership presents an opportunity to formalise extraction, modernise infrastructure and redirect mineral revenues away from informal networks that have long shaped the region’s instability.
