FILE PHOTO: A view of processing facilities at Tenke Fungurume, a copper and cobalt mine 110 km (68 miles) northwest of Lubumbashi in Congo's copper-producing south. Picture taken January 29, 2013. REUTERS/Jonny Hogg/File Photo
(Reuters) - The United States is open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo, the State Department said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, after a Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.
Democratic Republic of Congo, which is rich in cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, has been fighting Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized swathes of its territory this year.
Talk of a deal with the U.S. - which is also in discussions with Ukraine over a minerals pact - has circulated in Kinshasa for weeks.
"The United States is open to discussing partnerships in this sector that are aligned with the Trump Administration's America First Agenda," a State Department spokesperson said, noting that Congo held "a significant share of the world's critical minerals required for advanced technologies."
The U.S. has worked "to boost U.S. private sector investment in the DRC to develop mining resources in a responsible and transparent manner," the spokesperson said.
Kinshasa has not publicly detailed a proposal, instead saying it is seeking diversified partnerships.
"There is a desire for us to diversify our partners," Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said last week, adding there were "daily exchanges" between Congo and the U.S.
"If today American investors are interested in coming to the DRC, obviously they will find space ... DRC has reserves that are available and it would also be good if American capital could invest here," he said.
Andre Wameso, deputy chief of staff to Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, travelled to Washington earlier this month for talks on a partnership, two sources told Reuters.
On February 21, a lobbyist representing the Congolese Senator Pierre Kanda Kalambayi sent letters to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other American officials inviting U.S. investment in Congo's vast mineral resources in exchange for helping to reinforce "regional stability".
That initiative was not sanctioned by the broader Congolese government or presidency, according to two Congolese officials. There are, however, several initiatives underway, albeit in nascent stages, sources from Congo's presidency, its ministry of mines, and from Washington told Reuters.
A Congolese delegation had been scheduled to meet with the House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 6, but cancelled the meeting at short notice, according to two sources.
(Reporting by Congo newsroom, Sonia Rolley and Portia Crowe; Editing by David Holmes)
