The Democratic Republic of Congo is in discussions with a Texan businessman who is allied with Donald Trump to make a notorious source of conflict minerals a central part of the peace plans supported by the USA for the region.
Gentry Beach, the chairman of the investment company America, the first global and former financial food CO chairwoman of Trump’s campaign in 2016, is part of a consortium that negotiates rights at Rubaya Coltan-Mine, said Congolese officials and people who are familiar with the matter.
The mine outside the city of Goma in the east of Dr. Congo was used in the center of trade with smuggled Coltan in the financing of one of the longest and deadliest wars in Africa.
Rubaya, which about half of the Coltan of Dr. Congo produced in January was captured by M23 rebels supported in Rwanda, which have since monitored and taxed its production. The mine is viewed by geologists as one of the most commercially promising sources for the tantal and niob used in the electronics industry.
People who are involved in the discussions hope when a deal is complete, the mine will be part of an area of being US Investments that the new approach of the Trump government to terminate the fights between Dr. Congo, Rwanda and Proxy militias are based.
Washington, which negotiates a peace regulation with the warfare parties, dangles the prospect of billions of dollars in US investments in mining and infrastructure as a key to convince them, to fight, in an example of Trump’s typical transaction style of diplomacy.
Rubaya was one of several assets that the competitive Dr. Congo President Felix Tshisekedi had advertised when he turned to Washington in February and offered mining rights in return for the end of a rebellion in the east of the country.
Both Washington and Kinshasa have expressed hope that all business that have a river, including Chinese dominance in the richest mineral business in Africa. Dr. Congo accounts for about 70 percent of the world’s cobalt as well as some of the largest reserves of gold, copper, Coltan, tin and diamonds.
“When the United States entered, they wanted to hire their approach to a peace settlement differently than in the past,” said a regional participant in the plans on the condition of anonymity. “They examined what the business and economic side of the business that this region could thrive so would be so that we do not return to it everywhere.”
Beach, a former hedge fund manager and long-time college friend of Trump’s son Donald Jr., has experience in Dr. Congo, which goes back to a former mining company from 2004. Beach was also at ventures in Dr. Congo involved in the Congo born basketball legend Dikembe Mutombo.
Although Donald JR and Beach are old College friends, the president’s son is not involved in Beach’s business company, according to a person near Donald Jr.
America First Global, which had refused, is part of a consortium, including the Swiss Commodities Group Mercuria, which hopes to develop the mine in a joint venture with Congolese state miner Sakima. Mercuria – which was also not commented – would buy acceptance from the mine, which, according to the people involved, could require more than $ 500 million in investments.
“Rubaya is an important part of the peace process … We hope to expand it dramatically, to reorganize it and make it a world -class example for mining,” said one participant in the consortium.
The White House did not respond to a request for comments.
The prospects for peace remain precarious and it is still unclear how Rwanda ends its part of the conflict.
But representative of Dr. Congo and Rwanda supported a draft for the end of the conflict last week, which goes back to the consequences of the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda when millions of refugees fled across the border.
Foreign Minister of both countries should sign the agreement on Friday in Washington, which Trump described in truth as “a great day for Africa and a great day for the world”.
The US International Development Finance Corporation, the organization for the private sector, which was set up by Trump during his first term, can be some of the US investments as part of a separate strategic mineral agreement with Dr. Congo support, according to the officials.
This economic component of the settlement, which usher in the US investments in cobalt, copper and lithium mines as well as infrastructure -is still far away, according to people who are familiar with the conversations. DFC did not respond to a request for comments.
Rubaya is a synonym for hellish conditions and the looting of Dr. Congo’s wealth became through its neighbors.
It was controlled by various militias, since the 30-year conflict was often smuggled into international markets by Rwanda and Uganda, according to UN experts.
In the long term, part of the Coltan, which was reduced on the site, would legally exported by Rwanda and processed to export in a new melt in Kigali. The melt would be built by a separate consortium from Mercuria, Beach’s America First Global and Rwanda State Investor Ngali Holdings, according to the people familiar with the negotiations.
Some regional experts remain skeptical about the plans, since Rubaya’s central role played in the promotion of conflicts. But a person trusted with the matter argued that the deal would be “everything about building up the bridges”.
Additional reporting by Alex Rogers and Guy Chazan
