Washington could secure access to crucial eastern coltan deposits, though analysts say Beijing’s entrenched infrastructure leaves American investors trailing
3-MIN READ3-MINJevans NyabiagePublished: 4:00pm, 28 Aug 2026A peace plan agreed between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Rwanda-backed M23 movement last weekend could open the rebel-held Rubaya coltan deposit and other parts of mineral-rich eastern Congo to US investors.But observers say that even a lasting settlement would leave the United States far behind China, whose companies have spent decades building mining assets, relationships and supply chains across the country.The peace road map followed five days of talks and set out steps and timelines for negotiations under a US-brokered framework reached last year. The two sides also agreed to establish a mechanism for investigating ceasefire violations, although parties remain divided over sanctions on M23, the release of detainees and the timing of political reforms.
16:09How China is reshaping its economic ties with AfricaThe Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism Plus, or EJVM+, carried out its first ceasefire-monitoring mission in eastern Congo this week with support from the UN mission MONUSCO.
Massad Boulos, the US senior adviser on Arab and African affairs, called it “an important step from commitments on paper to pursuing peace on the ground”, saying effective monitoring could “build confidence, protect civilians” and help create the conditions for lasting peace.
Kai Xue, a Beijing-based corporate lawyer who advises on foreign direct investment and cross-border financing, said peace in the DR Congo would pave the way for capital from China, the US, the Gulf states and India to work together to “ensure the copper century in Congo”, referring to an expected period of rising global copper demand.
The Trump administration has secured preferential access for US companies to selected Congolese mineral assets, including in Rubaya, one of the world’s richest coltan deposits. Coltan is a source of tantalum, a heat-resistant metal used in electronics, aerospace technology and defence equipment.
America First Global, chaired by Trump ally and former campaign fundraiser Gentry Beach, is seeking rights to the site alongside Swiss commodities trader Mercuria. But Rubaya remains under the control of M23 rebels, who use taxes from its mineral trade to help finance their operations.
