Council of Ministers reinforces mining roadmap
Meeting on 31 December under the chairmanship of President Denis Sassou Nguesso, Congo-Brazzaville’s Council of Ministers closed the year with a resolute signal to the extractive industry. Two draft decrees allocating polymetal valorisation permits to Baouchi SARLU and two further texts attributing potash research licences to Soremi SARLU were endorsed, the government spokesperson Thierry Lezin Moungalla announced in Brazzaville. The decisions, taken during the last cabinet session of 2025, align with the executive’s oft-stated ambition to broaden the country’s economic base while respecting the statutory safeguards embedded in the 2016 Mining Code.
Baouchi SARLU targets domestic cable manufacturing
According to the communiqué delivered by Minister Moungalla, Baouchi SARLU expressed a formal interest in transforming Congo’s polymetal reserves locally with a view to producing electrical cables. The company wishes to operate on the Passa-Moubingui and Mindouli sites in the Pool department, where cumulative resources are estimated at roughly thirty million tonnes. Planned annual output of 250,000 tonnes would sustain a projected mine life of twenty-five years, providing the long-term horizon required for downstream industrialisation. By converting raw ore into finished cable, the proponent aims to curb the Republic’s reliance on imported conductors and fortify regional supply chains.
Local content, investment and environmental diligence
The provisional timetable unveiled to cabinet members points to a global investment envelope of US $350 million, inclusive of site-specific infrastructure. Employment forecasts stand at 350 positions, of which at least 250 are reserved for Congolese nationals, consistent with local-content obligations. Baouchi SARLU has also undertaken to conduct both a feasibility study and comprehensive environmental and social impact assessments, prerequisites set out in national regulations and reinforced by the cabinet deliberation. In the words of Minister Moungalla, the twin decrees “illustrate the State’s determination to couple economic ambition with responsible stewardship of natural resources,” a balance that remains central to Brazzaville’s narrative of sustainable growth.
From licence revocation to fresh opportunity
The Pool-based polymetal permits were previously held by Loulou de Mine until two presidential decrees dated 8 October 2024 returned them to the public domain for prolonged inactivity and non-compliance with the 2014 exploitation convention. Baouchi SARLU’s November 2025 application therefore arrived at a propitious moment, allowing the authorities to attach stricter performance clauses from the outset. The episode underscores the government’s readiness to re-evaluate dormant titles and, where necessary, reallocate them to operators demonstrating both technical capacity and a credible development schedule.
Soremi SARLU to deepen Kouilou potash prospects
Parallel to the polymetal decisions, Minister of State Pierre Oba presented two draft decrees granting Soremi SARLU research permits known as “Mandza” and “Mboumbissi” in the Kouilou department. The Chinese-Congolese firm had already obtained three prospecting authorisations covering Mbelelo, Mboumbissi and Mandza, and preliminary surveys identified compelling potash targets that now warrant advanced investigation. The new exploration campaign carries a planned budget of 5 billion CFA francs and is framed within the bilateral understandings reached during the most recent Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
Diversification strategy gains tangible momentum
Both sets of permits are portrayed by the executive as cornerstones of a broader diversification policy designed to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons and stimulate value-added manufacturing. By welcoming investment yet insisting on local transformation, job quotas and rigorous impact studies, the Council of Ministers seeks to project an image of pragmatic openness blended with regulatory vigilance. If Baouchi SARLU and Soremi SARLU meet the milestones now enshrined in decree form, Congo-Brazzaville could soon see polymetal cables rolling off domestic production lines while new potash data strengthen fertiliser potential—outcomes that would resonate well beyond the extractive sector.