What Happened: Chinese conglomerate Citic Metal Co. agreed to purchase a 20 percent stake in a Congolese mining firm, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., for $555 million, making Citic Ivanhoe's largest shareholder, Bloomberg reported June 11.
Why It Matters: The purchase aligns with China's broader strategy to secure natural resource supplies and control new energy supply chains.
Background: The Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa's largest producer of copper and cobalt.
Read More:
- The Congo Is Set to Butt Heads With Mining Firms Over Cobalt (March 4, 2018)
- Congo: Problems for Miner of Copper and Cobalt Only Multiply (May 2, 2018)
