The working session between DRC Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba and Virtus Minerals CEO Phil Braun on June 2, 2026 — two months after the acquisition of Chemaf SA was finalised — represents the first formal ministerial accountability checkpoint for what is arguably the most politically charged mining transaction in the DRC-US strategic minerals partnership to date.
Virtus, a small US firm founded in 2022 by former Green Beret Phil Braun and Andrew Powch, acquired control of Etoile and Mutoshi — copper-cobalt assets estimated to represent approximately 5% of global cobalt supply — for $30 million, while assuming a debt burden that had grown to approximately $690 million by late 2024, primarily owed to a Trafigura-arranged facility used to finance Mutoshi's construction and Etoile's expansion, both of which stalled under the previous ownership.
The investment required to complete both projects and reach the projected 75,000 tonnes of copper cathodes and 25,000 tonnes of cobalt hydroxide per year in annual output is approximately $300 million beyond the restructured debt — capital that must be deployed by a company with limited operating history in a jurisdiction where execution risk is among the highest in African mining. Extension works at both sites are reported to be at least 80% complete, suggesting the capital requirement is for completion rather than greenfield construction.
Braun's statement that works are proceeding in line with objectives is the first on-the-ground progress confirmation from management since the transaction closed — but no specific production restart date or construction milestone was disclosed, leaving the project's timeline unverified.
