In the race to secure control over critical minerals, the United States lags behind China, which dominates the market and is positioned across the entire value chain. In this context, Africa has emerged as a major strategic battleground between the two powers.

The United States is deploying a multidimensional strategy to secure access to African critical minerals and reduce China’s dominance in the sector. The approach combines the construction of mining corridors, direct equity stakes in assets, expanded upstream operations and the securing of preferential rights, according to a report published Monday by IRIS, the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.

Titled “De Lobito à Project Vault : la montée en gamme de la stratégie minière états-unienne en Afrique,” the report says Africa has become a key arena for securing mineral resources as “economic security” has returned to the core of U.S. strategy, with copper, cobalt and lithium as the primary targets.

The aim is to strengthen control over mineral resources at a time when China holds a dominant position across the critical minerals value chain, both in upstream mining and, more importantly, in downstream operations — refining, processing and industrial integration. Against that backdrop, developments in recent months point to a reorganization and strengthening of U.S. mining strategy across the continent.

Mining Corridors as Strategic Leverage

Mining corridors remain central to this architecture. The Lobito Corridor, backed by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), reached a milestone in December 2025 with a $553 million loan earmarked for the rehabilitation of Angola's rail network and the port's mineral terminal, which has a stated annual capacity of roughly 4.6 million tonnes.

The Liberty Corridor, led by U.S. company Ivanhoe Atlantic, follows a similar model: connecting the Nimba mining district in Guinea to a new deepwater port at Didia by rail. These corridors are designed not only to secure supply routes for critical minerals, but also to strengthen Washington’s negotiating position with host states and mining operators.

With the Democratic Republic of Congo and state miner Gécamines, Washington is now working to structure long-term offtake agreements, rights of first refusal — a contractual clause allowing its holder to match a purchase offer a seller is prepared to accept from a third party — and marketing joint ventures. Discussions are under way with trader Mercuria to organize the commercialization of state production shares while offering U.S. buyers priority access to certain volumes.

U.S. Companies Expand Upstream Positioning

A second strand of the new strategy involves equity stakes in major mining companies, shifting from securing access to exerting influence. Negotiations around a significant stake in Glencore's Congolese assets by the U.S.-backed Orion Critical Mineral Consortium illustrate that shift. The purpose of these capital positions is not to take over operations, but to secure a sufficiently strategic foothold to influence governance and, above all, the direction of commodity flows.

This repositioning comes as China’s hold over the Copperbelt remains decisive. Chinese mining giant CMOC controls the Tenke Fungurume and Kisanfu mines, while compatriot Zijin Mining Group holds a presence in Kamoa-Kakula, and Sino-Congolaise des Mines (Sicomines) embodies the infrastructure-for-minerals exchange model.

A significant share of the volumes that could potentially move through Lobito is already integrated into value chains where China retains a central role. The corridors do not allow Washington to bypass that reality, but rather to negotiate within it. That is where Project Vault enters the picture, marking a major strategic turning point.

Announced in February 2026 by the Trump administration, the project aims to build a U.S. strategic reserve of 60 critical minerals. The initiative is structured around roughly $12 billion in public and private financing, including a record $10 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (US Exim Bank). It is described as a “safety net” for industrial users, comparable to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

But the project goes well beyond storage. Vault aims to secure upstream supply by guaranteeing outlets and making long-term supply agreements bankable. The report also notes that the strategy of taking equity positions extends to upstream assets as well. The acquisition of Chemaf, a DRC-based mining company specializing in copper and cobalt, by a consortium led by Virtus, an investment group focused on strategic mining assets, illustrates that shift.

At an initial cost of roughly $30 million and the assumption of debt exceeding $600 million, the operation aims to revive assets capable of producing approximately 75,000 tonnes of cathode copper and 25,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide per year. Where corridors secure transport and Vault secures purchasing, this type of operation provides direct control over production.

U.S. companies are also positioning themselves in African mining projects as early as the exploration phase, controlling not only resources but also geological data and shaping future project development. Examples cited include KoBold Metals, which is developing the Mingomba project in Zambia with a target of roughly 300,000 tonnes of copper per year, and Lifezone, which has taken positions in nickel projects in Tanzania and Burundi.

This intensification of U.S. presence in the critical minerals sector is accompanied by a transformation of American diplomacy. The so-called “commercial diplomacy” strategy now relies on dedicated deal teams bringing together diplomats, financial institutions and private actors to structure concrete transactions.

IRIS cautions, however, that the U.S. strategy remains incomplete. It allows Washington to control only part of the value chain, as refining and processing of critical minerals will remain largely dominated by China. The report notes that the real value now lies in downstream industrial segments, where most of the value is concentrated.

Walid Kéfi