The race to control Africa’s mineral wealth is intensifying as the United States and China vie for dominance over key resources essential for the global transition to renewable energy. At the heart of this competition is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), home to vast deposits of cobalt, lithium, manganese, and rare earth metals, elements critical for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, and high-tech industries. This scramble harkens back to a dark chapter of history when Africa’s resources were covertly mined for the atomic age.
The DRC’s Katanga region, known for its geological treasures, was once the site of Shinkolobwe, the world’s richest uranium deposit. During World War II, the US covertly extracted over 3,000 tonnes of uranium ore from this mine, crucial for the Manhattan Project, which led to the development of atomic bombs. The ore was transported via a colonial-era railway, a vital logistical route stretching nearly 2,000 kilometers from Katanga to ports along the Atlantic. General Leslie Groves, a key figure in the project, recognized the strategic importance of this transport route, which has now become a focal point in the modern geopolitical battle over Africa’s minerals.
Today, the stakes are even higher. The DRC holds 70% of the world’s cobalt reserves, with demand for this critical metal expected to surge by 2,000% by 2040. The country is also home to the world’s largest deposit of lithium and significant reserves of copper and zinc. Yet, despite its wealth in resources, the DRC remains one of the poorest and most unstable countries globally, grappling with lawlessness, corruption, and political dysfunction. These challenges complicate efforts to mine and transport these valuable minerals.
According to a report by The Times, UK, China has spent the past two decades strategically positioning itself to control the DRC’s mining sector, investing heavily in infrastructure projects and offering favorable loans to the Congolese government in exchange for long-term mining rights. Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been central to this strategy, with China securing access to vast mineral reserves across Africa, including in the DRC. In contrast, the US has been slower to act but is now making a concerted effort to gain control over the key railway route that connects Katanga to the Atlantic coast.
In December 2023, US President Joe Biden visited Angola, marking his first trip to Africa as president, to secure a $250 million feasibility study for the modernization of the colonial-era Lobito railway. This railway, which was used to transport uranium ore during World War II, is central to the US’s efforts to enhance trade and mining logistics in southern Africa. The Lobito Corridor, a critical infrastructure project backed by the G7’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), is seen as a counter to China’s BRI, offering a potential route for the transport of high-value minerals from the DRC, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Biden emphasized the transformative impact of the modernized railway, highlighting how it could reduce shipment times from 45 days to just 45 hours, boosting profitability for miners and creating new economic opportunities in Angola, the DRC, and beyond. The corridor promises to unlock new trade routes for agricultural goods and minerals, which could significantly impact the southern African region’s economy.
However, the feasibility study faces critical decisions regarding the route of the railway. One option would involve bypassing the DRC and heading directly into Zambia, due to concerns over the DRC’s weak infrastructure and high levels of corruption. The existing railway line through the DRC is largely non-operational, requiring extensive reconstruction. This route was originally completed in 1931, during the colonial era, by the British-controlled Tanganyika Concessions, but its legacy now presents significant challenges in the modern context of infrastructure development.
The ongoing geopolitical contest over Africa’s resources reflects a broader struggle for influence in the continent, where economic power and strategic control over critical minerals will shape the future of global industries, especially in the renewable energy and high-tech sectors. As the world’s two largest economies vie for control over Africa’s mineral wealth, the DRC’s vast untapped reserves remain a prize that both China and the US are eager to secure.
This fierce competition is further complicated by the DRC’s internal challenges, where lawlessness, corruption, and inadequate governance continue to hinder development. Nonetheless, as the US and China push forward with their infrastructure projects, it is clear that the continent’s mineral riches, once the site of covert operations during the atomic age, are now at the center of a high-stakes global race, according to the report by The Times, UK.
