[Exclusive: US firm in key Congo minerals deal overstated its mining experience, documents and sources show](https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/us-firm-key-congo-minerals-deal-overstated-its-mining-experience-documents-2026-04-21/)
>One expert said that Virtus' track record in mining raises questions about the transparency of the U.S.-DRC partnership and whether due diligence was conducted.
They want to field a 20,000-man army to 'secure' mining fields.
>Virtus is led by Braun, a U.S. Army Green Beret veteran, and Andrew Powch, a former U.S. Navy officer. Braun did not respond to a request for comment and Powch declined to provide on-record comment on the findings of this article.
A leadership team from the military isn't abnormal in and of itself. Lots of firms hire veterans for their leadership experience. But they started the outfit, lied about their experience and have Trump backing.
>The U.S. State Department, which handles media inquiries for the now-defunct USAID, did not respond to requests for comment on the agency's dealings with ROK Metals.
Par for the course for Sub-Saharan Africa, I'm afraid.
230
porcupinedeath1 day ago
+135
Mm so Wagner Group: American Branch in the making then it seems
135
mstrbwl1 day ago
+86
We've had these mercenary companies for a looooong time at this point. Wagner was kind of late to the game if anything.
86
Cetun1 day ago
+36
I think he's referring to the fact the leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, held various odd jobs including burgler, elementary school coach, C***** CEO, hotdog seller, restaurateur and only real qualifications for running a PMC was that he just had close connections with the Kremlin. So they are saying that the scenario here is that the founders of Virtus similarly have very qualifications running a small army other than they know some people in the White House.
36
Osiris321 day ago
+34
Oh Prigy. What a weird little man you were. Rose from nothing to run a private army, invade multiple countries, become a legitimate threat to the Russian government for about 24 hours, and then ate a missile while stupidly flying in Russia.
34
Cetun18 hr ago
+9
His story is the story of Russian Forrest Gump if I've ever heard one.
9
Osiris3218 hr ago
+10
Life is like a bowl of Goulash.
10
The_Maddest_Scorp10 hr ago
+2
"Life is like a bowl of borscht, you always get nothing in the end..."
2
usemyfaceasaurinal20 hr ago
+6
Regardless of your personal opinions of the man, that’s quite the resume.
6
Starfox-sf1 day ago
+6
Chef’s Kiss
6
Muted_Woodpecker95851 day ago
+17
Funding future terror groups
17
denver_and_life23 hr ago
+5
This makes it sound like the prequel to Avatar..
5
thelingeringlead21 hr ago
+8
Yeah we've never had a single bad thing happen by pumping money into paramilitaries in struggling wartorn countries to protect us from being overwhelmed by or fight against the other paramilitaries.
8
Altruistic-Car288021 hr ago
+6
Anybody seen Erik Prince lately?
6
Dangerous_Golf_741719 hr ago
+1
Last I saw he was flying drones around Haiti
1
Fedora_Million_Ankle1 day ago
+2
And then...
Things got worse.
2
Acceptable-Peace-6922 hr ago
+4
Only for the locals…
4
Ragnarawr19 hr ago
+1
Oh shit, isn’t this exactly what that murderous Wagner group did?
1
[deleted]1 day ago
-13
[deleted]
-13
Iron-Fist1 day ago
+10
>no good short term solution
Really? Cuz China has increased their imports from DRC from $4 billion in 2019 to $24 billion (over 1/3 of the country's total GDP) in 2024. Theyve been building roads and rail and hospitals since 2007 in exchange for stakes in 80% of the cobalt mines in the country.
They also built out their entire copper refining industry, literally 80% of which is owned by Chinese firms in public-private partnership deals. Their production has literally 10x since 2010. Refined copper is now their primary export, not raw cobalt (China imports like 19b of refined copper from them vs 3b in cobalt concentrate/ore).
And now they have a deal getting around US pressure. This article also mentions why you are seeing this kind of fly by night company from the US: they are getting like 30 billion in funding to set up "alternate supply chains" around China and are doing their best to embezzle as much as possible.
https://prospect-intel.com/china-cements-drc-minerals-pact-amid-intensifying-u-s-rivalry/
10
sofixa1123 hr ago
-1
Those things do not tackle the security issues though. Parts of the east are controlled by Rwanda-backed paramilitaries.
So yes, DRC is incapable of providing security for its territory.
-1
Ok-Bunch61071 day ago
-2
People just say anything on this website
-2
One_Weird23711 day ago
-2
Yeah nothing ever goes wrong in the Congo
-2
AudibleNod1 day ago
+156
>The $100 million program is funded through partnerships with the United States and United Arab Emirates, the statement said.
A US-backed paramilitary group operating in the Congo wasn't on my 2026 Bingo card.
>Washington is trying to reduce China’s dominance over critical mineral supply chains. Congo and the U.S. signed a minerals partnership last year under which American firm Virtus Minerals has taken over copper-cobalt miner Chemaf.
Virtus Minerals's CEO is a former Green Beret. I'm not saying that Green Berets can't lead a mining operation in Africa. I'm just saying that if I wanted to take over a country militarily, I'd probably pick a Green Beret over a mining executive.
156
SomewhereNo83781 day ago
+83
really? US backed paramilitaries is like table stakes anywhere across the world
83
Iron-Fist1 day ago
+18
Just for reference, congo does like 24 billion in trade with China (about 1/3 of GDP) vs 2 billion with the US. China operates/partnership owns 80% of their copper industry and has grown it 10x since 2010. Theyve been investing in roads/rail/hospitals etc since 2007.
And don't even get started on ROC rather than DRC, brazzaville got like 20 billion in BRI money aiming to increase oil export to 200k bpd, which at current prices would give them like 10% GDP growth for a decade...
18
Lucius-Halthier1 day ago
+27
He’s been using illegal mines like this and in South America to bring gold into the US, we always had a policy to not import gold for the reserve because it fueled human rights abuses. Of course he does this because he gets off of human suffering
27
No_Wrongdoer46618 hr ago
+2
Knowing maga i bet all our gold is missing
2
Lirael_Gold19 hr ago
+3
I'll just point out that Green Beret > CIA SAC is not an unusual change of career.
in fact it's kinda sorta a direct pipeline.
3
grafknives1 day ago
+79
More like slave patrols
79
bighairybeardudee23 hr ago
+15
Didn’t we the US just send a few thousand captured immigrants to the Congo free of charge recently?
15
impulsekash1 day ago
+15
Colonial army.
15
SpeshellED20 hr ago
+6
US actively working to steal resourced from Congo.
6
Wafkak22 hr ago
+4
Its a complicated situation, as currently Rwanda has trade deals for a bunch of minerale that aren't found kn Rwanda. While suspicious in the Congolese area these can be mined Rwandan backend milities have been mass murdering the local population.
4
lu5ty1 day ago
-15
Pretty sure working in a mine is one of the better jobs in the Congo
-15
chef-nom-nom1 day ago
+20
Long history of abuse there. It once had a hands-for-bullets program.
20
lu5ty1 day ago
-7
Oh yea its a total clusterfuck for sure
-7
Wafkak22 hr ago
+2
In some yes, in other areas they are basically sholder with holes you crawl in with hand tools and a bandana for protection. And your pay is your family gets just enough food to not starve.
2
Greyy3851 day ago
+65
and they tell us colonialism ended
65
Low_Pickle_1121 day ago
+26
When this ends as predicted, some smug, racist economist will explain that the Congolese are just genetically infer.....I mean, have a "resource curse", and that's why it's all their fault and has nothing to do with centuries of colonialism.
26
Bitter_Tea44222 hr ago
-2
That's why we call it neo-colonialism when China does it and colonialism when we do it.
-2
ops107 hr ago
+1
Sadly we call it neo-colonialism when France does it and investments when China does it.
1
Jaxxlack1 day ago
-21
Hey hey hey... Dont bring Europe into this... All American...
-21
unfortunateshun1 day ago
+19
It’s literally the Congo. History doesn’t just magically stop being relevant when it’s a different country
19
[deleted]1 day ago
-5
[removed]
-5
unfortunateshun23 hr ago
+7
That just isn’t how history works, same way when the US intervenes to destabilize a place and then other European colonizers come in after and benefit from the same system of oppression Americans don’t get to say “we have nothing to do with that.”
This idea that these colonials powers don’t collude and directly benefit from the actions of the others is extremely childish. Belgium destabilized the Congo and created the environment that other colonizers benefit from, including Americans, Europeans, and China.
Pointing out someone else’s responsibility doesn’t magically absolve the other parties? I’ve never understood why people jump to that conclusion all the time. F*** em both
7
Disastrous-Tone-76691 day ago
+9
"We learned it from you, dad. We learned it from you"
9
Jaxxlack1 day ago
-11
Pahhhno you didn't...
-11
xThe_Mad_Fapperx20 hr ago
+3
King Leopold II
3
Greyy3851 day ago
+1
technically most americans are europeans lol. at least compared to me
1
Ser_Daniel_The_1st1 day ago
+2
That’s a fair point however they seem so detached from us they hardly qualify as Europeans.
On a societal and political level. Not in any other way.
2
Jaxxlack1 day ago
-3
Technically? So you're not American?
-3
BartHarleyJarvis-1 day ago
+3
He's definitely more American than 96% of us.
3
Jaxxlack1 day ago
+3
If you're an American citizen...ya American... Not African...not European... American... Born in it lived in it .know it.. why do all you think that ya skin makes you not American... Cos if you left America you'd be surprised you're not who you want to be called...just like British don't say "Ex British" when talking about the USA lol
3
BartHarleyJarvis-1 day ago
+1
Cause Americans don't think like Brits? When an American asks, "Where are you from?" They are likely asking about ones ethic background.
Yes, if we left travel abroad we will refer to ourselves as American. But in America, people take it a step further and reference their ethnic background. Mr Grey is Native American meaning his people are indigenous to this continent. Lots Americans are only a few generation deep. His people have been here since before there was any type of detailed record keeping like that.
1
Jaxxlack23 hr ago
+3
But that's still Internal thing, outside your borders.. Americans are different races... If we begin to go off generations then things get really messy..
3
BartHarleyJarvis-23 hr ago
+1
Yeah I get it. But the point is, Mr Grey is Native American. He wasn't talking about his national identity.
1
Jaxxlack23 hr ago
+3
But that still doesn't remove the fact all the involvement is American.. Latin American, African Americans, Asian Americans.. native American.. just because a large percentage have ancestry from other nations.. doesn't make those ancestors complacent in current events? We can't blame India for something Pakistan has done because at one point they were one nation.
3
spark3h1 day ago
+23
"Guarding" the mines AKA making sure the slaves don't leave.
23
PregnantGoku131223 hr ago
+6
Well *that* certainly doesn't have a wide variety of appalling historical precedents...
6
xynith11623 hr ago
+5
UAE funding? The same UAE asking for a bailout from the US?
5
riedmae22 hr ago
+4
Yeah, f*** meals on wheels and pediatric cancer research in the US.....**this** is where middle americas taxes should be going
4
wolfonweed1 day ago
+10
for those confused, the article & title fail to sufficiently associate this decision with current government of Rwanda.
This situation makes no sense from a US-centric perspective, but is entirely predictable with a Central Africa-centric perspective. This is the most recent move in a series of extremely interesting moves in this region, all underpinned by and in response to the escalating international situation between the DRC and Rwanda.
Bottom line; this is a move to stabilize the region by disincentivizing Rwanda from exercising one of the most interesting geopolitical opportunities of this decade.
I only mean interesting in that it would attract a lot of interest, not that it's good. In fact, exercising this opportunity would probably lead to one of the most calamitous disasters to take place in Africa since the second Congo War (which took place in the exact same location we are talking about now.)
10
ClawingDevil1 day ago
+19
And this is why countries are now picking China to do deals with...
19
I_Push_Buttonz22 hr ago
+2
Lol China has a stake in or outright owns almost all of the mines these forces would be protecting and has already been engaging in this variety of security cooperation with the DRC for over a decade.
All the US is doing is trying to get a piece of China's action.
2
MovieGuyMike16 hr ago
+1
USA is bringing a stick while China brings carrots.
1
ops107 hr ago
+1
Oh boy you haven't seen some of the beating videos, have you.
1
ArchAngel6211 day ago
+12
???
Isn't this where we sent all the deportees?
12
June_Fatality1 day ago
+10
Human trafficking and slave labor. Thank a trump voter.
10
pleated_pants1 day ago
+3
Frederick Forsyth just missing the opportunity to write a follow up to The Dogs of War.
3
tavo7911 day ago
+3
Are they ensuring slave don't escape?
3
sks01023 hr ago
+2
He better be careful how he goes about cleaning things up. Someone might decide Congo needs some freedom if he starts managing things in the interests of his country and his people instead of foreign countries and corps.
2
tyraywilson22 hr ago
+2
Surely it's moral, non-exploitative, and they have the best of intentions....right?......
2
thrownehwah20 hr ago
+2
Sounds like another Blair mountain in disguise
2
MovieGuyMike16 hr ago
+2
Sounds like hell on earth.
2
Kazimierzowska13 hr ago
+2
Just so disgraceful and disgusting—raping and pillaging without justification other than greed.
2
SleepingToDreaming1 day ago
+3
Nothing new here; 'MURICA has been heavily exploiiting, ripping away and agriculturally destroying Africa for almost a century.
3
ThatGuy875423 hr ago
+3
Why can’t we collectively realize that the 3rd world has so much poverty BECAUSE of western imperialism?? The cycle of violent coups and bloodthirsty warmongers only ends when we lift the world up
3
baseketball1 day ago
+4
Our own Wagner group. This is going to end well.
4
BiteYourThumbAtMeSir1 day ago
+4
very nice to see that we've decided to ape russia's geopolitical playbook:
- transform the metropole into a corrupt hellhole
- attempt to destroy the EU and NATO
- get into half-baked wars predicated on tactically unsound thunderruns, and when that goes t***-up we attempt to terrorbomb the civilian population into submission
- NOW we interfere in african affairs using PMCs
4
Finn-reddit23 hr ago
+2
You could almost say the current administration is on Putin's payroll.
Almost. For this to be the case they would need to commit treason. Which would be giving aid to US enemies, like a country that has helped kill US citizens.
Giving aid could be something like lifting trade sanctions against said country.
2
fuck-nazi1 day ago
+1
Guess maybe the afghan nationals the US is betraying can find work?
1
Particular_Ticket_201 day ago
+3
Look...this time we're not cutting off hands, killing laborers, acting as muscle for the owners...none of that.
This time the mercenaries and military will only protect the resources and investments*
*Protecting miners and local people not included. Protecting resources may be harmful to labor.
3
cartman10120 hr ago
+1
Mad Mike Hoare is so back.
1
revelm15 hr ago
+1
"somehow, also my money"
1
alien2sick1 day ago
+1
Creating another armed group smh
1
Verum_Orbis1 day ago
+1
Belgian Congo
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian\_Congo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Congo)
Congo Free State
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo\_Free\_State](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congo_Free_State)
1
antizana1 day ago
+1
Got to spin up some employment opportunities for all of the Afghans who assisted US troops who are now going to be deported there
1
foolmetwiceagain1 day ago
+1
This is all well and good, but what happens when Solo and the Wookie try to claim a shipment, only to face the Cloud-Riders trying to do the same? I fear we will need more Empire resources than this to protect our valuable minerals that drive our most critical technologies.
1
strugglz1 day ago
On par for Trump and GOP that we can fund this but not send food to places that need it.
0
CircumcisedSpine1 day ago
Cool. Creating our own armed Congolese mining cartel... so we can make investors happy. And we did it with a Gulf state partner. How American.
94 Comments