News
Critical minerals news
Short summaries written by MineralLink editors, always linking to the original source. We never republish articles.
9 of 211 items
14 Oct 2026 · Ecofin Agency
Tsodilo Resources sets up DR Congo and Namibia units to pursue critical minerals
Canadian explorer Tsodilo Resources, which is developing the Gcwihaba rare earths project in Botswana, created subsidiaries in the DRC and Namibia to look for lithium, tantalum, niobium and copper targets in Haut-Lomami and Tshopo and copper and polymetallic targets in Kunene. It has not yet secured any licence in either country and says talks may not lead to agreements.
8 Oct 2026 · MiningFocus Africa
DR Congo launches three-year airborne geophysical survey with eight aircraft
The DRC launched its PC2G-RDC mapping programme in Kinshasa on 5 October, with Spain's Xcalibur Multiphysics flying eight aircraft over more than 700,000 square kilometres in Kongo Central, Kwango, Kwilu, Kasai and Katanga. The mines minister said it will raise geoscientific coverage from about 22% to 46%, with copper and cobalt the main focus, and the work is funded by the Mining Fund for Future Generations.
2 Oct 2026 · Ecofin Agency
European investor NIU backs fieldwork at Molulu copper-cobalt project in DR Congo
London-listed Critical Metals, 52% held by European investment group NIU, has begun mapping, trenching and sampling at the Molulu copper-cobalt project near Lubumbashi, in which it holds 70%. NIU presents the investment as part of an alternative to Chinese-dominated supply; German family company Axtmann raised its stake in Critical Metals to about 19.6% in September.
30 Sept 2026 · Mining Technology
CoTec and Copper Intelligence form joint venture to reprocess DRC copper tailings
CoTec Holdings and Copper Intelligence signed a definitive joint venture to evaluate and process historical copper tailings accumulated since the 1950s in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Copperbelt. The venture plans asset-by-asset due diligence and the use of CoTec's technologies, and the US International Development Finance Corporation is cited as a potential funder.
25 Sept 2026 · Ecofin Agency
US trade agency funds power study for copper and cobalt mining areas in DRC and Zambia
The US Trade and Development Agency awarded a USD 3 million grant to Anzana Electric Group on 22 September for a feasibility study on hydropower rehabilitation, new generation and distribution networks serving mines in the DRC and Zambia. The award extends US engagement around the Lobito corridor to electricity supply for the Copperbelt.
22 Sept 2026 · Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)
Tengyuan Cobalt shifts IPO funds from precursor plant to DRC hydropower project
Chinese cobalt producer Tengyuan Cobalt won shareholder approval to redirect about RMB 949 million of IPO proceeds to the Lufupa hydropower project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company will cut the planned capacity of its ternary precursor project from 80,000 to 20,000 tonnes a year.
17 Sept 2026 · MiningFocus Africa
Botswana clears US$140 million Kemcore plant to make reagents for copper and cobalt miners
Kemcore received environmental clearance for a USD 140 million chemicals complex at the Leupane industrial park in central Botswana, designed to produce about 150,000 tonnes a year of mining reagents such as sodium metabisulphite and xanthates. It would supply copper and cobalt producers in DR Congo and Zambia, with financial close targeted for December 2026 and first output in 2028.
12 Aug 2026 · Fastmarkets
DRC regulator says cobalt export quotas could be cut if the market needs rebalancing
The head of the DRC's strategic minerals regulator ARECOMS said the agency could lower cobalt export quotas if supply and demand fall further out of balance. For now the 2026-2027 annual base quota of 87,000 tonnes plus a discretionary strategic quota of 9,600 tonnes stays unchanged, while cobalt hydroxide prices had eased since April.
6 Aug 2026 · African Development Bank (via allAfrica) · official source
AfDB approves USD 255m loan and USD 10m grant for Zambia's Lobito Corridor rail and road links
The African Development Bank Group board approved a USD 255 million African Development Fund loan and a USD 10 million grant to support Zambia's part of the Lobito Corridor. The project covers about 550 km of new railway and a 105 km road upgrade linking the Copperbelt toward Angola's port of Lobito, with further phases potentially lifting Bank financing to USD 500 million.
Summaries are MineralLink's own wording; headlines are paraphrased. Sponsored items, if any, are always labelled “Sponsored”. See our editorial independence policy.