DRC-US mineral pact offers optimism—and inherent hurdles [Business Africa]

The Democratic Republic of Congo and the United States have signed a high-profile deal on critical minerals, promising economic transformation and secure supply chains.

Among other things, the agreement creates the so-called Strategic Mineral Reserve (SMR) to ‘ensure predictable and durable supply of critical minerals, including cobalt, for the United States’, while guaranteeing Americans preferential treatment in their exploitation…