Overview
- Speaking in Cape Town, Gwede Mantashe urged African states to deepen collaboration, warning that acting alone risks a race to the bottom in investor negotiations.
- Two analysts reported he accused the DRC of “selling out” to Washington during a closed-door session, a characterization Mantashe later denied.
- DRC mines minister Louis Watum Kabamba publicly defended the agreement as mutually beneficial and part of a strategy to diversify partners, citing China’s dominance in copper purchases.
- Critics argue the deal sidelines downstream processing and locks in a decade-long freeze on tax and regulatory changes, potentially limiting long-term gains.
- The dispute unfolds as the US advances a critical-minerals trade zone, a $12 billion stockpile, and talks with 54 countries, while M23 attacks continue in eastern DRC.