Glencore Weighs Sale of One of DRC’s Largest Cobalt Mines, Reviving U.S.–China Rivalry Over Critical Minerals

(Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

The Swiss mining giant Glencore is reportedly talking with prospective buyers for its 75% stake in the Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the company’s flagship assets that is also one of the world’s largest producers of cobalt.

The blue metal is widely used in the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries and other sophisticated electronics, and is regarded as one of the key materials at the center of an escalating competition among the world’s major industrial powers for control of critical resources.

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