A Washington-based firm positioned at the centre of a landmark U.S.-Democratic Republic of Congo strategic minerals partnership has been accused of materially overstating its experience and track record in the Congolese mining sector — raising serious questions about transparency, due diligence, and the integrity of a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars in critical mineral investments.
Virtus Minerals purchased the Chemaf mines in March for $30 million from the miner's shareholders, a transaction that was presented by the Trump administration as a flagship demonstration of American private sector commitment to Congo's mining sector — and a counterweight to China's longstanding dominance of the country's cobalt and copper resources.
What the Documents Show
According to documents reviewed by Reuters, company CEO Phil Braun — described on Virtus's website as someone who "has established and operates the only American-owned copper and cobalt mining and processing company in the DRC through the subsidiary ROK Metals" — did not in fact acquire a key copper-cobalt processing plant in Likasi that the company repeatedly pointed to as evidence of its Congolese operations.
The plant, located in southeastern Haut-Katanga province, has been idle since 2012. Court records from the Likasi civil tribunal show that repeated attempts to sell the facility through legal process have failed — bidders repeatedly failed to pay the required sum, and the property remains under the ownership of CAM Resources to this day. State lender Sofide, which holds debt secured against the plant, confirmed it remains inactive and unsold.
USAID Grant Suspended
Even as Virtus and its subsidiary ROK Metals continued to market the Likasi plant as an operational facility — with ROK's website as recently as 2024 stating the company was "actively developing" a processing plant that would soon produce copper cathode — the U.S. foreign aid agency USAID awarded ROK Metals a $2 million grant in June 2024.
The grant was suspended in August 2024, according to a document reviewed by Reuters, after USAID learned that ROK Metals did not own the plant — contrary to representations made by the company's principals during the grant application process. No USAID funds were ever disbursed. By the time of the suspension, ROK had not completed acquisition of the facility.
The Deal That Was Central to U.S.-Congo Strategy
The Chemaf acquisition five months after the grant suspension represented Virtus's most significant Congo investment to date. The transaction was framed as the first physical investment from the U.S.-DRC strategic minerals partnership — an arrangement under which Washington agreed to help Congo attract American investment in its mining sector in exchange for preferential access to cobalt, copper, and other materials critical to U.S. technology and defence industries.
A senior Congolese official familiar with the approval process told Reuters that the security credentials of Virtus executives — including Braun's background as a U.S. Army Green Beret veteran — were a factor in Kinshasa's decision to approve the deal, given Washington's ongoing mediation efforts between Congo and Rwanda.
Questions Over Due Diligence
Transparency advocates say the case raises fundamental questions about the rigour of due diligence applied to a transaction that sits at the heart of a strategically important minerals partnership.
Jean-Pierre Okenda, executive director of the Sentinel of Natural Resources, a non-governmental organisation that monitors governance in Congo's mining sector, told Reuters: "It is essential that the DRC government satisfies itself that Virtus has the necessary technical, financial and operational capacity to develop these assets responsibly. The reputational and operational risks of doing otherwise are substantial."
The U.S. State Department said it "fully supports" Virtus's acquisition efforts and described the Chemaf deal as an "initial flagship U.S. investment" that would "catalyse further investment." It did not respond to questions about whether it had conducted independent verification of Virtus's operational track record in Congo.
Cobalt, Copper, and Geopolitical Stakes
Congo produces more than 70 percent of the world's cobalt — an essential component in electric vehicle batteries and consumer electronics. The country also holds vast, largely untapped reserves of copper and lithium. Control over these resources has become a significant arena of geopolitical competition, with the United States seeking to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains for critical minerals.
For Congo, the partnership with Washington is an attempt to leverage its resource wealth to attract alternative investment and reduce dependence on Chinese financing and Chinese-owned mining operations that have dominated the sector for decades. The Virtus deal was meant to signal that American capital and expertise could be deployed at scale.
Sources: Reuters (April 21, 2026), BBC Africa