U.S.-backed consortium moves to buy 40% of Glencore copper and cobalt assets in the DRC

A non-binding memorandum outlines a proposed sale that would transfer a 40% economic interest in two of Glencore’s flagship DRC assets—Mutanda Mining and Kamoto Copper Company—to an American-backed consortium called the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium. The transaction, framed at an implied combined enterprise value of roughly $9 billion, would give Orion the right to appoint non-executive directors and determine the purchasers of the consortium’s share of output under terms aligned with a U.S.-DRC strategic partnership. Operational control would remain with Glencore, but the arrangement is structured to secure a dedicated portion of copper and cobalt flows for the United States and its partners through contractual off-take direction. Orion CMC, led by Orion Resource Partners in partnership with U.S. public finance institutions, positions itself as a mission-focused vehicle to anchor supply-chain resilience for critical minerals. The parties have signaled intent to collaborate with the DRC government and state partner Gécamines and to pursue further investment and resource development across the African copper belt. The proposal remains conditional on due diligence, definitive documentation and regulatory clearances, making timeline and final terms subject to negotiation and political review. Strategically, the deal is intended to diversify and de-risk Western access to minerals essential for electrification and defense supply chains, offering an alternative to existing market concentrations. For the DRC, the arrangement could accelerate capital flows and technical investment into long-life assets but also raises questions about revenue allocation, local content, and sovereign oversight of strategic resources. Market impact would likely include a clearer channel for U.S. procurement of copper and cobalt and potentially tighter trade relationships between the DRC and Western buyers, with downstream implications for battery and technology manufacturers. Risks that could frustrate the transaction include regulatory pushback, changes in DRC mining policy, community and environmental concerns, and the complexity of aligning investor, state and international security objectives. If completed, the deal would be a visible example of using coordinated public-private finance to reshape critical-mineral supply lines, while testing the ability of multilateral partnerships to generate commercial returns alongside geopolitical goals. Close scrutiny by investors, policymakers and civil-society stakeholders is likely as the parties move from an MoU to binding contracts and seek the necessary approvals.