KINSHASA – The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has officially unveiled the “Mines de Fer de la Grande Orientale” (Mifor), a colossal $28.9 billion iron ore initiative designed to pivot the national economy away from its historic reliance on copper and cobalt. Presented during a landmark Council of Ministers meeting, the project marks the start of a multi-decade strategy to unlock an estimated 20 billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore, potentially ranking the DRC alongside global heavyweights Australia and Brazil.
The ambitious first phase of Mifor targets an annual production of 50 million tonnes, with long-term design capacity scaling to a staggering 300 million tonnes. To facilitate this, the government has outlined a multimodal logistics corridor that integrates heavy-haul rail and river transport along the Congo River, ultimately connecting the remote northern deposits to the deep-water port of Banana on the Atlantic coast. Financial projections for the 25-year programme are equally expansive, with officials forecasting a cumulative economic impact of $679 billion and a net cash flow surplus of $308 billion.
Government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya framed the initiative as a “national economic architecture project” rather than a mere extraction venture. “The mine serves as a financial instrument enabling the state to create long-term structuring assets,” Muyaya stated, emphasizing that the project is intended to catalyze domestic industrialization and stabilize macroeconomic fundamentals. By prioritizing local processing, Kinshasa aims to capture the significant value gap between raw iron ore, currently trading near $108 per tonne, and finished stainless steel, which commands prices upwards of $900 per tonne.
The timing of the launch aligns with a broader continental push for “economic self-determination” and a move toward mineral beneficiation. While the DRC’s extractive sector has long been dominated by the volatile cycles of battery metals, iron ore offers a more stable industrial backbone. However, market analysts note that the project’s success will hinge on its ability to navigate the DRC’s notorious infrastructure deficit and governance challenges. Despite these hurdles, the government reports that the project has already piqued the interest of international institutional investors drawn by the high quality of the ore, which consistently exceeds 60% Fe content.
To manage the complex implementation, the state has established an interministerial commission to oversee the phased rollout and ensure alignment with national development priorities. As the global steel industry seeks high-grade inputs to meet tightening environmental standards, the DRC’s entry into the iron ore market could redefine regional trade dynamics. If realized, Mifor would not only diversify the nation’s treasury but also provide the sovereign infrastructure necessary to transform the Congo Basin into a major industrial hub.
