Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) is the DRC's largest single copper mine by output and one of the world's largest mined cobalt sources. It is located in Lualaba province near the town of Fungurume and is operated by CMOC Group, a Chinese mining company listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges. Together with the adjacent KFM expansion project, the TFM complex is a central variable in global copper and cobalt supply.
Current ownership
TFM: CMOC Group 80%, Gécamines (DRC state) 20%. KFM (Kisanfu copper project, adjacent expansion): CMOC Group 95%, Gécamines 5%.
CMOC acquired its 80 percent TFM interest in 2016 from China Molybdenum (which it effectively is — CMOC was formerly named China Molybdenum Co.). The seller was Freeport-McMoRan, which had earlier acquired TFM through its purchase of Phelps Dodge. In 2022, CMOC completed the acquisition of the remaining 24 percent Freeport interest it did not yet own, consolidating 80 percent ownership (the remaining 20 percent being Gécamines' non-dilutable stake).
Gécamines' 20 percent interest in TFM represents one of its largest and most significant minority positions in the DRC's mining sector. The interest generates royalties, dividends, and access fees that flow to Gécamines' accounts and are reported in the EITI DRC reconciliation.
What TFM produces
TFM produced approximately 450,000 tonnes of copper and 18,000 tonnes of cobalt in 2023, based on CMOC's published annual report figures. That output makes it:
The DRC's largest single copper producer by output (slightly ahead of Kamoa-Kakula in 2023, though the gap is narrowing as Kamoa-Kakula expands).
The world's largest single industrial mined-cobalt source.
A major contributor to Chinese cobalt hydroxide refinery feedstock through its off-take agreement with CMOC's affiliated processing operations.
The mineral processing infrastructure at TFM uses a combination of heap leach (for oxide ores) and flotation-SX-EW circuits. As oxide ore grades decline and the operation moves to deeper sulphide ores, capital expenditure for additional flotation capacity becomes a recurring item in the operation's capital programme.
The KFM expansion
KFM (previously referred to as the Kisanfu project) is an expansion of TFM's mining and processing footprint on the same general permit area. CMOC holds 95 percent of KFM; Gécamines holds 5 percent.
KFM adds a second concentrator to the TFM infrastructure and targets incremental copper and cobalt production above TFM's base case. CMOC's capital expenditure in the DRC — between TFM sustaining capital and KFM construction — has been one of the largest single capital programmes in the DRC mining sector over the 2021–2025 period.
[Internal link: "copper mining DRC" → Pillar: Copper mining in the DRC: top mines, output and outlook]
Why TFM matters
TFM's importance in the cobalt market is structural. The mine produces more cobalt from a single site than any other industrial operation in the world. When CMOC was engaged in a dispute with the DRC government in 2022 — related to a declaration of force majeure that interrupted export operations — the cobalt market reacted within days. Prices moved on the announcement of the dispute and reversed partially when it was resolved. That price sensitivity is the market's expression of TFM's supply irreplaceability in the short term.
Gécamines' position
Gécamines' 20 percent interest in TFM is the state entity's most significant single copper-cobalt asset in terms of production volume. The historical relationship between Gécamines and TFM's successive private operators has been commercially complex, involving negotiations over access fees, royalty calculations, and the conditions under which Gécamines participates in profits versus receiving priority distributions.
