Terra Metals, Metalex seal $100M deal to form copper-cobalt partnership in Zambia

US-based critical minerals developer Terra Metals and resource investment firm Metalex Commodities have finalized talks on the creation of what they call a “new copper and cobalt production powerhouse” based in Zambia.

A signing ceremony is expected to be held in the US Embassy in Lusaka, underscoring the strategic alignment with US government priorities on critical mineral security, Terra Metals said in a press release Wednesday.

The signing will highlight the strengthening US-Africa cooperation in the clean energy transition and will serve as a major diplomatic and commercial milestone for the region’s mining sector, it added.

The Delaware-registered miner currently holds mining and exploration assets in the Kabompo Dome, located about 129 km west of First Quantum Minerals’ Sentinel and Kalumbila mines and 177 km west of Barrick’s Lumwana mine.

Metalex, also based in the US, has trading operations in Nigeria and Zambia, focusing on critical minerals such as lithium, manganese, copper and cobalt.

The newly established partnership, called Lunda Resources, will look to commission a 240-tonne-per-hour copper and cobalt concentrator that will be used to process high-grade ores to supply strategic end-markets, including the US, through the Lobito Railway Corridor.

Construction of the smelter is already underway, with commissioning targeted for September 2025, said Terra Metals. To support the project, Metalex has committed $100 million in funding.

“This partnership is a leap forward for Zambia’s mining sector and a cornerstone of US-Africa industrial alignment,” said Terra Metals chairman Mumena Mushinge, who will also serve as the chair of Lunda Resources.

“We’re building the infrastructure, governance, and funding mechanisms to responsibly extract and deliver the minerals that power the global clean energy future,” Mushinge said.