The Democratic Republic of Congo is reportedly ready to approve the sale of Chemaf to US-based Virtus Minerals, advancing a strategic minerals partnership between Washington and the African nation…Congo’s mines minister, Louis Watum, notified Virtus last week that the government intends to clear the takeover, according to sources cited by Bloomberg News, marking a key step in a deal involving one of the country’s most contested mining assets…The transaction tests a broader US–Congo minerals agreement signed in December alongside a Washington-brokered peace deal between Congo and Rwanda, as the US seeks to reduce reliance on China for critical minerals. Congo has become central to that strategy given its vast reserves of copper, cobalt, lithium and tantalum, with the Chemaf process emerging as an early signal of how preferential access for US investors will work in practice…Virtus agreed to acquire Chemaf’s equity for $30 million and plans to invest about $750 million to complete stalled projects, while assuming debts owed to creditors including Trafigura Group, whose $600 million loan in 2022 funded construction at Mutoshi and expansion at the Etoile operation…Congo has wielded significant influence over the sale through state miner Gecamines, which holds a key permit leased by Chemaf for Mutoshi, after previously blocking a proposed deal with a Chinese state-backed firm. 

A new trade pact between Indonesia and the United States has recast their economic ties, binding Jakarta’s resource wealth and energy future more closely to Washington’s strategic needs…Indonesia agreed to widen access for U.S. investors in critical minerals, boost its purchases of U.S. crude and liquefied petroleum gas, back the development of an American coal export corridor and cooperate on small modular nuclear reactors…In turn, the U.S. trimmed a threatened 32% tariff on Indonesian goods to 19% and granted broader access to the American market, including a zero-tariff entry policy for major products such as palm oil, coffee, cocoa, spices and rubber…Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer, has vast mineral reserves needed for electric vehicles and clean energy systems. It’s caught between the conflicting aims of the U.S. and China, a key source of foreign investment and market for Indonesian coal and nickel, analysts say…China is concentrating on electrification, renewables and dominance of battery supply chains, while the U.S. is pairing its push for mineral access with more fossil fuel exports…Indonesia has pledged to promote U.S. investment across its mineral industry, from exploration and mining to refining, transport and export. In some cases, American investors will receive treatment “no less favorable” than domestic firms…Restrictions on exports of critical minerals to the U.S. will be relaxed to expedite development of Indonesia’s rare earths and critical minerals sector with U.S. partners, promising “greater certainty” for companies involved in extraction to help boost production, the agreement says…Indonesia’s critical mineral processing sector is currently dominated by China, which has firms operating or financing multiple nickel smelters and industrial parks…Competition over critical minerals is heating up and the agreement “opens the door for U.S. firms to have a real shot” at “modestly leveling a sector where Chinese industries established first mover advantage,” he said.

Japan and the United States are set ​to agree to jointly develop ‌rare earths, lithium and copper at Thursday's summit, the Nikkei ​Business Daily reported on ​Tuesday…The ‌projects ⁠mark the latest efforts to secure supply chains of critical minerals, which are essential ​to the ​manufacture ⁠of certain defence technologies, semiconductors and renewables ​components.

Miller owns a ​used electric-car dealership southwest of London and logged his busiest Saturday ever one week after the war began on February 28 with the bombing of Iran by Israel and ‌the United States. The conflict has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20% of global oil supplies are transported…Miller is now racing to stock more inventory. "We're turning cars very, very quickly," he said, adding that customers at his store, EV Experts, worry that petrol prices will climb higher…The average U.S. gallon of gasoline has risen 27% since late February, up to $3.72, the U.S. ​Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday…History has shown that oil price shocks can lead to structural changes in consumer car-shopping habits. The 1970s ⁠energy crisis led U.S. car buyers to opt for smaller vehicles, which favored Japanese automakers and eroded their U.S. rivals' market share…Analysts say the recent sharp increases in fuel prices likely will not significantly alter shopping ​patterns for new cars right away. It often takes a sustained period of elevated prices, or for them to eclipse a psychological milestone before car buyers shift their focus to more fuel-efficient choices, industry watchers said…An uptick in EV interest is more likely in Europe, where fully electric cars accounted for 19.5% of sales last year, and where government tax breaks for electric purchases are being reintroduced…In the U.S. market, industry experts say a major move ​to EVs is unlikely unless ⁠fuel prices march far higher. EV sales accounted for just 7.7% of new-car sales last year, with sales cooling after the Trump administration killed a $7,500 federal tax break for buyers of EVs.