Zijin Mining / COMINIERE — Manono Northeast Lithium JV: DRC Exploration and Mining Licence

Mechanism

The Manono Lithium Project occupies one of the world's largest known hard-rock lithium deposits — a spodumene-bearing LCT (lithium-cesium-tantalum) pegmatite belt in Tanganyika Province, DRC. The northeast block was locked in litigation for years: Australian junior AVZ Minerals (ASX: AVZ) had pursued the original PR 13359 licence, but a series of Congolese arbitral and judicial decisions (CCIAG, Congolese commercial courts) ultimately ruled in COMINIERE's favour by 2023, extinguishing AVZ's claim on the block and vesting 100% of the exploration right in the DRC SOE.

With clear title in hand, COMINIERE issued an invitation to Zijin Mining's dedicated overseas vehicle Jinxiang Lithium Limited to form Manono Lithium SAS. The JV's equity structure as reported by Zijin in the initial announcement is approximately 55% Jinxiang Lithium / 35% COMINIERE (with a residual government carried interest), though some secondary sources quote 61/39 — the discrepancy likely reflects the DRC state's retained royalty/carried interest versus voting shares. Either way, Zijin has operational control and majority economics.

Key milestones:

• October 2023 — Exploration licence (PR 13359-NE) granted to Manono Lithium SAS; Zijin discloses

JV structure to HKEX (announcement news-detail-119909).

• September 2024 — Mining licence issued by DRC's Mining Registry (CAMI), unlocking construction.
• June 2026 — Initial lithium production commissioned; Zijin's official newsroom announces its

"first hard-rock lithium mine into production" (news-detail-122496). Full-capacity spodumene concentrate ramp targets ~120,000 t LCE in 2026, scaling to 270,000–320,000 t LCE by 2028 at 5 Mt/yr throughput.

Downstream implications

• China-in-the-middle amplification: Manono NE adds a flagship lithium node to China's existing

DRC critical-mineral stack (CMOC at Tenke Fungurume / Kisanfu for cobalt; CNMC/Sinohydro at Sicomines for copper). Chinese operators now control the dominant share of DRC cobalt, copper, AND lithium production simultaneously — any DRC resource-nationalism action or export restriction propagates through Chinese-owned infrastructure.

• Western battery supply chains: EV/battery makers sourcing DRC spodumene concentrate will

transact through a Chinese-controlled entity. The IRA's foreign entity of concern (FEOC) rules (effective 2024) make Manono NE output structurally ineligible for US battery-tax credits without a processing step outside China — a cost that shapes OEM sourcing decisions.

• CRMA strategic-raw-material exposure: Lithium is a CRMA Strategic Raw Material. EU companies

assessing Art. 24 supply-chain concentration must count Manono NE output as Chinese-controlled upstream regardless of the DRC legal domicile of the JV, since Zijin is the operator and offtake controller.

• AVZ overhang: AVZ Minerals (ASX: AVZ) continues to pursue ICSID arbitration against the DRC

for the licence loss. An adverse award and resulting DRC payment obligation — however small in absolute terms — could politically complicate COMINIERE's JV operations and create a title- cloud risk for offtake buyers doing DD.

Open questions

• Exact Jinxiang Lithium equity split vs. COMINIERE carried interest: 55%/35% (Zijin release) vs.

61%/39% (secondary coverage) — verify from next Zijin annual report or HK stock-exchange filing.

• ICSID arbitration status (AVZ v. DRC): outcome could alter title risk perception for offtake buyers.
• Whether Manono NE spodumene concentrate flows to Zijin's own hydroxide processing in China or is

sold directly — determines FEOC exposure for US/EU buyers.

• Full-capacity commissioning timeline: Mysteel flagged June 2026 for Phase I; phases II/III scale

to 270,000–320,000 t LCE/yr pending financing completion.