• Buenassa is seeking financing to buy copper and cobalt producer Chemaf
• Deal would secure long-term supply for its planned refining project
• Acquisition seen as key to improving project bankability

Buenassa is seeking financial backing to acquire a strategic local mining asset in the Katanga region that is currently up for sale, its chief executive Eddy Kioni said on January 12, 2026, following a meeting with the new head of UBA in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Michael Kayembe. According to a source close to the Congolese company, the asset in question is mining firm Chemaf. Bloomberg reported that Buenassa formally notified its interest in Chemaf in November, as the future of the copper and cobalt producer is closely watched due to its assets and its position in the race for critical minerals in the DRC.

For Buenassa’s CEO, the acquisition would allow the company to accelerate vertical integration, from extraction to refining, trading, and strategic storage, while securing feedstock for its refinery for more than 20 years. He said the move would strengthen operational resilience and transform Buenassa from a greenfield industrial project into a major operational mining player, shifting it from a planned facility to a company with producing assets capable of supporting an integrated value chain.

This strategy sets Buenassa apart from other bids that are more focused on financial and commercial control of Chemaf. By comparison, state-owned Gécamines, another Congolese contender, plans to acquire the mining company only to resell it and retain a stake of up to 25%, Bloomberg reported. Through its subsidiary Gécamines Trading, it would then market its share of production to the United States, in line with commitments made by the DRC under a strategic agreement signed with Washington in December.

A critical asset

Buenassa’s approach is explicitly industrial, aimed at securing raw materials for a refining project in the DRC rather than simply capturing export flows. This aligns with the Congolese government’s policy push for greater local processing of minerals. Details of Buenassa’s offer have not been disclosed. Gécamines, for its part, is said to be considering a bid of just under $1 million, followed by an audit and a plan to settle Chemaf’s debts, estimated by media sources at around $900 million. Part of this debt is reportedly held by Trafigura, which arranged a $600 million loan in 2022 to finance development of the Mutoshi mine near Kolwezi.

Securing a producing mining asset is widely seen as critical to Buenassa’s project. Such an acquisition would strengthen its bankability by providing collateral to support financing for the construction of its refinery. So far, the company has secured only a $3.5 million public grant from the Industry Promotion Fund, which was used to carry out a scoping study.

That study puts the cost of the first phase of the project at $700 million, according to a document seen by Bankable. At this stage, the plant would produce 30,000 tons of copper cathodes and 5,000 tons of cobalt sulfate per year. A second phase, estimated at $2 billion, would raise output to 120,000 tons of copper and 20,000 tons of cobalt annually. These figures remain subject to further refinement.

A complex equation

The updated indicative timetable now calls for a pre-feasibility study in early 2026 and a full feasibility study in the second quarter of 2027. Financial close is targeted for the third quarter of 2027, while the start of production has been pushed back to 2029, from an earlier estimate of 2027.

To finance this strategy, Buenassa is pursuing a multi-layered approach combining African commercial banks, regional development finance institutions, local financial institutions, international strategic partners led by the United States, and the Congolese state. Since June 2025, the government has held a 10% stake in the Buenassa Ressources project company. Discussions with UBA are aimed at building a financing structure that can support both the refinery construction and the acquisition of the mining asset.

Access to Chemaf, however, remains uncertain. “We will not give anyone else a chance,” Gécamines chairman Guy-Robert Lukama said in late 2024, according to Reuters. The state-owned miner holds the permit on which Chemaf is developing the Mutoshi project, placing it in a strong position. The government, which is the sole shareholder of Gécamines and also holds 10% of Buenassa and 5% of Chemaf, will ultimately have to decide, taking into account its mining policy priorities.

Some observers point to a possible strategic partnership between Gécamines and Buenassa, seen as two sovereign vehicles for developing the DRC’s copper and cobalt value chains. Their positions appear complementary, and with U.S. companies also interested in Chemaf, sources close to the matter describe a DRC–United States consortium, involving Gécamines and Buenassa, as a potentially realistic outcome given the financial, operational, and security challenges involved. Such a scenario would extend the DRC–U.S. strategic partnership.

Pierre Mukoko, Bankable