DR Congo secretly exporting uranium to China - report
Despite a prohibition on commercial uranium export from the Central African country, “significant quantities” have gone to China.
A recent investigation by Lighthouse Reports has revealed that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), a mineral-rich country that supplied uranium for US nuclear weapons during World War II, has been secretly exporting uranium to China over the past two decades. Despite a prohibition on commercial uranium exports from the Central African nation, the investigation found that significant quantities of uranium were exported alongside cobalt, with between 2,000 and 5,000 tonnes shipped to China between 2000 and 2024.
The Shinkolobwe mine in the southeastern Katanga region, which once supplied uranium for US nuclear warhead production, remains active despite being formally closed in 2004. The investigation used leaked UN-affiliated International Atomic Energy Agency documents and records from TFM, a formerly American-owned firm in Congo now owned by China's CMOC, the world's largest cobalt producer.
Brief written by urgent.news from Semafor's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
