Virtus Minerals and its Indian partner Lloyds Metals & Energy have formed a joint venture called Virtus Lloyds Mineral Holding and plan to restart full production at Chemaf’s copper and cobalt mines by January 2027.
The US company Virtus Minerals and its Indian partner Lloyds Metals & Energy plan to restart full production at the Congolese copper and cobalt mine Chemaf by January 2027 following a takeover backed by Washington, a union official told Reuters.
In March, Virtus acquired Chemaf’s mines for $30 million and agreed to assume Chemaf’s debt, which amounted to approximately $900 million. This acquisition of Chemaf is the first concrete step in the partnership between the United States and the Democratic Republic of Congo aimed at redirecting critical mineral supplies from China to Western markets.
Chemaf, formerly owned by Dubai-based Shalina Resources, is now being managed by Virtus Lloyds Mineral Holding, a U.S.-Indian joint venture, Virtus executive Arum Awat said in a message to staff on Monday, which was reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.
The joint venture will retain Chemaf’s workforce and will strive to quickly restart production after years of uncertainty at the company, Virtus said in a statement to Reuters, declining to comment on a timeline.
“Our priority is to complete everything as quickly as possible,” the statement said.
Reuters reported this week that Virtus had overestimated its mining experience, highlighting the risks involved in the execution.
The new owners announced to workers at a meeting on Tuesday that they would temporarily suspend production at Chemaf’s Lubumbashi site—currently the company’s sole production facility—for up to two months for maintenance work, while simultaneously accelerating construction work for production and processing in Kolwezi and Lubumbashi, said Juresse Lokosha, president of the Union for Social Peace, which represents Chemaf workers.
“The new owners told us they plan to start full-scale production simultaneously in Lubumbashi and Kolwezi by next January,” Lokosha said.
In the memo to employees, Awat stated that this transition was intended to strengthen operations and ensure the completion of Mutoshi’s copper and cobalt projects, which had been delayed by financial and operational difficulties.
The Mutoshi copper and cobalt project near Kolwezi has been stalled since 2019, when processing was suspended due to low cobalt prices and financing constraints, leaving the asset largely idle prior to the acquisition.
The company has appointed Indian national AN Subramaniyam as CEO, according to Lokosha and the memo to staff.
Specialists from Lloyds Metals will work alongside the Chemaf teams in an advisory capacity, while Chemaf’s management team will remain in place to ensure continuity, the memo states.
By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila
