The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is planning to export 500,000 metric tons of copper to the United States, a fivefold increase in the export commitment made in January by state-owned miner Gécamines SA. “The Congolese government’s intention, through Gécamines, to start exporting its own copper is becoming a reality,” said Jean-Claude Mputu, spokesperson for civil society network Le Congo n’est pas à vendre (CNPAV) and deputy director of the NGO Resource Matters. “The U.S. push to gain access to Congolese copper, in an effort to rebalance China’s dominance, is also materializing,” Mputu added. However, the DRC doesn’t appear to be moving away from China as a trade partner. In March, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding centered on mineral resources. For now, there’s little public scrutiny of contracts that will allow the DRC to ramp up U.S. exports, nor is it clear what the social and environmental impacts of increased extraction would be. “All of this is happening without any transparency, without any call for tenders. The risk is repeating past patterns of corruption, even if China is replaced by the United States,” Mputu said. “There is a feeling that extraction is being carried out at the expense of the environment and local communities,” he added. “There are numerous cases of pollution around mining sites that go unpunished. The key question is whether this will improve the lives of Congolese people, particularly in terms of environmental standards.” Some reports suggest the copper will be sourced from…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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