KemetLeads
The DRC's minerals-for-security bargain faces its first audit
Swapping one dependency for another is not sovereignty. The test of any minerals deal is Lumumba's question — who benefits? If refineries, jobs and security actually materialize on Congolese soil, this is statecraft. If the cobalt leaves and the war stays, it is the oldest story in the book with new letterhead.
Scrutiny is mounting over Kinshasa's Washington Accords of December 2025, which trade privileged access to copper, cobalt and lithium for American security support in the east — as a vetted shortlist of state mining assets, from Gécamines to Sakima, is opened to US investors.
What to watch: The first financial close on the shortlist, and whether fighting in the east actually subsides under the accords.
Sources: Mongabay, Feb 2026 · Mining.com on the shortlist · Egmont Institute