TSX-listed Ivanhoe Mines has confirmed that it is in advanced discussions with Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) State-owned mining company Gécamines and metals and energy trader Mercuria to supply the US with critical minerals contained within the concentrate produced by the ultrahigh-grade Kipushi zinc/copper/lead/germanium/gallium mine, in the DRC.

The confirmation was announced to the market after Ivanhoe founder and co-chairperson Robert Friedland on February 2 met with US President Donald Trump and other US government officials, as well as executives from various mining and manufacturing companies, in the White House Oval Office as part of the launch of Project Vault – a $12-billion domestic critical minerals stockpile.

Project Vault is a US supply chain security initiative aimed at building a reserve of strategic critical minerals. It will combine $1.67-billion in private capital with a $10-billion loan from the US Export-Import Bank to procure and store critical minerals in the US for civilian use.

Ivanhoe points out that, under the terms of the proposed agreement between the company, Gécamines, Mercuria and the US government, Mercuria’s current offtake of Kipushi’s zinc concentrate will be assigned to the trading division of Gécamines, in addition to excess volumes generated following the successful debottlenecking and ramp-up of Kipushi’s concentrator in the fourth quarter of last year.

The Kipushi mine is expected to produce between 240 000 t and 290 000 t of zinc concentrate this year.

The concentrate produced at Kipushi also includes significant quantities of germanium and gallium. Germanium is used to manufacture electronic devices, flat-panel display screens, light-emitting diodes, night-vision devices, optical fibres, optical lens systems and solar power arrays, while gallium is used to manufacture compound semiconductor wafers for integrated circuits and optoelectronic devices such as laser diodes, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors and solar cells.

"Gécamines has the potential to be responsible for the sale of up to 50% of the Kipushi mine’s concentrate production, including to the US, where plans to build a new major base metals and critical minerals smelter is under way.

"As announced on December 15, 2025, Korea Zinc and the US government announced a $7.4-billion investment for a new state-of-the-art integrated smelter complex to be built as a public-private partnership in Clarksville, Tennessee," Ivanhoe notes in a statement.