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Democratic Republic of Congo will enforce a long-dormant rule requiring local employee ownership for mines in a move that may rebalance shareholdings in some of the world’s biggest copper and cobalt producers.

In a letter dated Jan. 30 and addressed to miners of all metals in the country, Mines Minister Louis Watum said firms must demonstrate that 5% of their share capital is held by Congolese employees.

The decision could affect multiple industrial mining projects in the central African nation, which provides about 70% of cobalt supply and is the second-largest copper producer. Glencore Plc, CMOC Group Ltd., Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., Eurasian Resources Group and Zijin Mining Group Co. are among the country’s biggest miners. Barrick Mining Corp. operates one of Africa’s largest gold mines in the country, which also has vast deposits of lithium, tantalum, tin and zinc.

The move comes amid ongoing negotiations between the Trump administration and Congo that could see more US companies invest in the country’s mining industry, which has previously been dominated by Chinese enterprises.

Read more at: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-09/congo-to-enforce-local-ownership-rule-for-copper-cobalt-miners