Glencore explores selling majority stake in Kamoto Copper Company

Glencore confirmed on 19 September 2025 that it was in exploratory talks to sell a majority stake in Kamoto Copper Company (KCC), its flagship copper-cobalt operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as the country's prolonged cobalt export suspension added to a list of operational pressures on the asset.

Why Glencore was weighing an exit

Glencore holds a 70% interest in KCC alongside state miner Gécamines and the Congolese government. The operation had been grappling with falling cobalt prices, rising costs and an unresolved royalty dispute with Kinshasa even before the export ban compounded the pressure by blocking Glencore from selling material it was still obliged, commercially and politically, to keep producing. A further complication hung over any sale: Israeli businessman Dan Gertler holds a 2.5% revenue royalty on KCC, a legacy stake that creates sanctions-related complications for potential Western buyers because of long-standing US sanctions against Gertler.

Talks were reported to include Orion Resource Partners, a natural-resources investment firm, with Glencore said to be open in principle to selling stakes to other parties too, including Rio Tinto. Crucially, the discussions were also linked to a broader US-DRC minerals and infrastructure push: the US International Development Finance Corporation was exploring investment opportunities with Orion in Congo's mining sector as part of Washington's effort to secure critical mineral supply chains against Chinese competition.

Why it matters

A sale of KCC would mark one of the most significant ownership changes in Congo's cobalt sector in years, and the first major test of whether US-backed capital could take a direct stake in Congolese copper-cobalt production at a moment when Chinese firms already dominate the industry. It also signalled that even Glencore — one of the two largest cobalt producers in the world alongside CMOC — saw enough uncertainty in Congo's export regime to consider diluting its exposure rather than simply riding out the disruption.

The talks came against the backdrop of a market still waiting for Congo's export ban to lift, with no firm date yet set for a resumption of trade.

What happens next

No transaction had been finalised as of the September announcement, and Glencore stressed the discussions remained exploratory with no formal sales process launched. The talks would resurface in sharper form months later, evolving into a concrete proposal involving a US-backed consortium and a specific valuation for Glencore's Congo assets.

Sources

• Yahoo Finance / Reuters: Glencore explores sale of majority stake in Kamoto Copper Company, 22 Sept 2025
• MiningFeeds: Glencore (LON:GLEN) Explores Sale of Stake in Congo's Kamoto Copper Mine Amid U.S. Push for Mineral Security, 19 Sept 2025

Photo: Glencore's headquarters building in Baar, Switzerland. Paradise Chronicle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.