DRC Replaces Gecamines Chair and CEO Amid US Critical Minerals Deal Talks
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The Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi replaced Gecamines’ board chair and chief executive on February 23, installing senior official Deogratias Ngele Masudi as chair and Baraka Kabemba as CEO, according to a government statement aired on state television. Former chair Guy Robert Lukama moves to head the state-owned Kilo-Moto Gold Mining Company, while ex-CEO Placide Nkala Basadilua awaits reassignment.
The shake-up coincides with advancing talks under a US-DRC minerals cooperation pact linking security guarantees to Western investment in Congo’s vast reserves of copper, cobalt, and other critical minerals. Kinshasa recently submitted a shortlist of priority assets—including manganese, copper-cobalt, gold, lithium, and hydrocarbons—for American investors to consider.
Among the assets is Dubai-based Chemaf, a distressed copper-cobalt producer that US-backed Virtus Minerals agreed to acquire for $30 million plus assuming its debt load. Gecamines holds the mining leases for Chemaf’s operations, making its approval essential for the deal to proceed. Masudi, who previously served as Gecamines director general and justice minister, will oversee such decisions.
Gecamines controls most of Congo’s mineral licences, leasing them to private partners in joint ventures that have drawn billions in investment but faced criticism over revenue sharing and governance. The leadership change aims to strengthen state oversight amid heightened global competition for battery metals supply chains.
Neither Masudi nor Kabemba were immediately available for comment on the reshuffle’s link to US negotiations. The moves signal Kinshasa’s push to diversify partnerships beyond China, which dominates Congo’s mining sector, while securing Western capital tied to geopolitical alignment.
