US Proposing Key Minerals Act Involving Democratic Republic of Congo

According to Bloomberg news agency quoted by Mining.com website, John James, the chairman of the African subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives and the Michigan House of Representatives, proposed a bill requiring the development of the United States national strategy to ensure the Supply chain security of key minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Congo's cobalt production accounts for 70% of the world's total, and cobalt is an important raw material for power batteries. The country also has large copper, lithium, tantalum, and germanium deposits.

The bill claims that Chinese companies' control over the mining, beneficiation, and refining industries of these minerals poses an "economic and national security threat", affecting energy independence and combat readiness.

Jim Baird of Indiana, Young Kim of California, and Thomas Gene Jr. of New Jersey jointly drafted this bill Thomas Kean Jr., Cory Mills of Florida, like James, all of them are Republican congressmen.