Glencore’s 40% Congo mines sale: production, offtake and risk notes for planners
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on MINING.com
30 Second Briefing
Glencore has agreed a non-binding deal to sell a 40% stake in its Mutanda Mining and Kamoto Copper Company assets in the DRC’s Lualaba province to the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium for an enterprise value of $9 billion. Mutanda and KCC together produced 247,800 tonnes of copper (about 30% of Glencore’s global output) and 35,100 tonnes of cobalt last year, with Orion CMC gaining rights to appoint non-executive directors and direct sales of its share of production under the US–DRC strategic partnership. The mines will remain operated by Glencore, while Orion CMC, backed by ADQ and the US International Development Finance Corp., plans further critical mineral and infrastructure investments across the DRC and wider African copper belt.
Technical Brief
- Transaction values Mutanda Mining and Kamoto Copper Company at a combined enterprise value of $9 billion.
- Glencore currently holds 95% of Mutanda Mining and 75% of Kamoto Copper Company alongside Gécamines.
- Mutanda and KCC produce copper cathode and cobalt hydroxide, indicating established hydrometallurgical processing chains on site.
- Orion CMC was formed in October by Orion Resource Partners with backing from ADQ and the US DFC.
- Orion, Glencore, Gécamines and the DRC government intend to pursue expansion and further asset development around the existing operations.
- DFC has separately pledged over $1 billion for a Gécamines–Mercuria copper–cobalt venture and a Congo–Angola rail corridor.
Our Take
Mutanda and Kamoto contributing about 30% of Glencore’s global copper output means a 40% sell‑down effectively brings in US‑aligned capital without Glencore surrendering operational centrality in its copper portfolio, which is notable given its recent 11% drop in 2025 copper production reported elsewhere in our coverage.
The involvement of the US International Development Finance Corp. in DRC cobalt and copper contrasts with China‑linked players such as CMOC Group and Zijin Mining that feature in other copper pieces in our database, signalling a more overt US bid to anchor supply from the African copper belt into Western battery and grid supply chains.
With the DFC having already pledged $1 billion for two US‑DRC strategic projects and Orion CMC targeting upwards of $5 billion of investment, this transaction positions Mutanda and Kamoto as flagship ‘de‑risked’ critical‑minerals hubs in Lualaba, likely to attract further downstream lithium‑ion and refining commitments compared with other DRC assets that lack this kind of structured Western backing.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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