Rio Tinto in talks to develop lithium deposit in the DRC – report
Rio Tinto (NYSE: RIO) has held discussions with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s government about developing the Roche Dure resource into a lithium mine, Bloomberg News reported.
The talks are still in the early stages. Roche Dure is one of the world’s largest hard-rock lithium deposits.
Neither Rio Tinto nor Congo’s Ministry of Mines commented on the report. Congo is also in early discussions with the US government regarding a potential minerals-for-security agreement aimed at supporting efforts to combat a Rwanda-backed rebellion in its eastern provinces.
Lithium rush
Last week, Bloomberg reported that California-based exploration firm KoBold Metals — backed by billionaires including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos — expressed interest in developing Roche Dure once disputes over its mining rights are resolved. One option under consideration is a partnership between KoBold and Rio Tinto to jointly build and operate the mine.
The Roche Dure deposit was first defined by AVZ Minerals, which had planned to develop a facility capable of producing 700,000 tonnes of lithium concentrate annually for 20 years. This would have made it the largest lithium mine outside Australia. AVZ was close to starting construction when the Congolese government revoked its rights in 2023.
Rio Tinto is actively expanding its lithium business, capitalizing on lower prices caused by oversupply.
Last year, the company agreed to acquire Arcadium Lithium for $6.7 billion, the biggest mining deal in over a decade. It is also advancing the Jadar lithium project in Serbia — which would be Europe’s largest lithium mine — and the Rincon lithium operation in Argentina.
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Comments
Gabriel
Tshisekedi was backed by Biden/Democrats because Congo has the cobalt for their crazy electric car program. Remember that Israeli kid who tried to overthrow the govt with those other Africans? They were backed by both the Mormon mob and Netanyahu, probably on behalf of Israeli mining magnate Dan Gertler. Now, it could be different, unclear who is backing him.
Paul Kagame meanwhile has gone to DC a few times and done the rounds with the GOP establishment, although he was ultimately installed by Clinton way back in the day until Dems started smearing him for having hardline censorship laws in a country that went through a brutal ethnic genocide a decade or two before. I’d say he may be more of a free agent, at any one time he works for Russia, China, Israel, Europe, UK, or either side of the spectrum in the US.