Glencore plans to increase its exposure to the Democratic Republic of Congo to source metals vital to electric car batteries, as the commodity trading giant seeks to expand in the rapidly growing market.
Glencore is making its first-ever investment in a lithium mine in the central African nation after agreeing a deal with Tantalex, a Toronto-listed group exploring for lithium in the DRC.
The deal will see London-listed Glencore provide up to $55mn to Tantalex in three stages, in return for getting the rights to sell lithium from Tantalex’s Manono tailings project to refineries, automakers and battery manufacturers for six and a half years.