Sacked Congo state miner chiefs opposed Virtus–Chemaf takeover

The Democratic Republic of Congo replaced the CEO and chair of state miner Gecamines in part because of their opposition to US-backed Virtus Minerals’ plan to buy cobalt and copper producer Chemaf, three people familiar with the matter said.

As Kinshasa seeks to develop a minerals partnership with Washington, President Felix Tshisekedi on Monday removed Guy Robert Lukama and Placide Nkala Basadilua as Gecamines chair and CEO respectively, replacing them with Deogratias Ngele Masudi and Baraka Kabemba.

Congo has drawn up a list of assets, including Chemaf’s mines as it seeks to attract US investment into a sector long dominated by Chinese firms, Reuters previously reported.

Virtus said it is partnering with Orion Resource and India’s Lloyds Metals to bid for Chemaf.

Only part of reason

Lukama was blocking the deal with Virtus, a stance that became untenable, a senior Congolese government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A second source familiar with the matter said the opposition of the ousted Gecamine leaders was only part of the reason they were replaced without giving further detail.

The source also said Gecamines had hired a consultancy to assess Virtus’ capacity to run mines in Congo.

Lukama, Basadilua, Gecamines and Congo’s government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Virtus said it had agreed to acquire Chemaf for about $30 million. It would also have to assume Chemaf’s debt of $200 million unsecured and $700 million secured.

Although Chemaf is privately owned and Gecamines has no stake in it, the miner owns the lease to the company’s mines and any bid for control of Chemaf cannot proceed without its approval.

Gecamines in 2024 blocked Chemaf’s sale to China’s Norinco and submitted its own bid to prevent greater Chinese control of Congo’s cobalt and copper assets.

The new Gecamines chair Masudi is a former justice minister with prior experience inside the company.

(By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Clement Bonnerot; Editing by Barbara Lewis)