ERG CEO Seeks Chinese Investment in Key African and Central Asian Mines
Shukhrat Ibragimov, the newly appointed CEO of Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), is actively courting Chinese investment in the company’s world-class deposits of critical minerals across Africa and Central Asia.
Since taking over as chairman and CEO in 2024, Ibragimov has made a series of overtures to Chinese partners, emphasizing their role in the global green transition, stating, “There is no green transition without China.”
ERG holds vast copper and cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), worth hundreds of millions of dollars. These minerals are at the center of a geopolitical struggle between Washington and Beijing, making Ibragimov’s pro-China stance a potential concern for U.S. officials seeking to reduce China’s dominance in critical minerals.
Speaking to China’s CGTN at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ibragimov highlighted China’s leadership in clean energy, noting that in 2023 alone, China invested nearly $900 billion in alternative energy. “China is the biggest consumer of minerals, and as suppliers, we must meet that demand,” he stated.
His growing ties with China are reflected in his frequent trips there, with his private jet spotted in Beijing in both August and October 2023.
Meanwhile, DRC officials have been actively seeking to diversify the country’s mining investments. Mines Minister Kizito Pakabomba recently stated that Congo wants to attract a broader range of investors, moving beyond China’s current dominance.
The government has made “strategic choices” about mining ownership, as seen in its opposition to the proposed sale of Trafigura-backed Chemaf Resources Ltd. to China’s Norin Mining Ltd.
Congo, which produced nearly three-quarters of the world’s cobalt last year, has expressed frustration over its limited influence in the industry. The country has also faced falling cobalt prices, with increased output—particularly from Chinese miner CMOC Ltd.—driving prices to an eight-year low.
