Special Forces Veterans Lead US Bid to Buy Congo Cobalt Miner

A US consortium involving ex-special forces personnel is seeking to acquire Chemaf Resources Ltd., a copper and cobalt producer that has become a symbol of the growing competition for mineral deals between the US and China in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Orion Resource Partners and Virtus Minerals are jointly negotiating the purchase of Chemaf, according to people familiar with the matter. While the US firms are in pole position to acquire Trafigura Group-backed Chemaf, the parties haven’t entered into an exclusivity agreement as aspects of the deal are yet to be finalized, one of the people ...