The United States has disrupted a major Chinese contract in Africa

Official Washington prevented the conclusion of a deal between a company from China's Norinco and the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The project involved the extraction of copper and cobalt by the Chinese in the territory of an African country. Details are reported by the Financial Times.

Thus, the source clarifies, the States have tried to provide allied companies with access to strategically important minerals. Washington does not want to give control over them to Beijing.

Norinko also planned to buy the Congolese mines Mutoshi and Etoile from the private mining company Chemaf Resources. But the Americans allegedly put pressure on the company Gecamines from the DRC, which is engaged in issuing permits for such activities.

The result was a veto issued by Gecamines with a strange justification — the lack of timely notification of the parties about such a deal, although the latter was already under preparation. At the same time, the agreement was previously approved by the Minister of Mining of the DRC Kizito Pakabomba.