Critical Minerals Advisor – DRC

Activity Description

The Africa Trade and Investment (ATI) Activity is designed to bolster the U.S. Government’s ability to boost trade and investment too, from, and within the African continent. The continent-wide program is USAID’s flagship effort in support of the Prosper Africa initiative and will expand and accelerate two-way trade and investment between African nations and the United States.

Driven by market demand, ATI embraces innovative approaches to achieve its goals. ATI is designed as a small, core set of centrally coordinated technical and institutional support activities and a large, flexible performance-based subcontracting and grants under contract facility designed to support the needs and opportunities that USAID Missions and the private sector identify.

Purpose

USAID/DRC has been engaged in minerals programming for over twenty years, with numerous programs dedicated to or addressing responsible mineral extraction in DRC. Despite high-profile interest in minerals inside the U.S. government, USAID/DRC is one of the few significant development programs in this sector (others being Colombia, Peru, and the Central African Republic).

From 2004 to 2010 USAID partnered through its Global Development Alliance mechanism leveraging responsible mining corporate social responsibility funding to develop sustainable approaches to community development, including public health, education, livelihoods and agriculture, community infrastructure and community governance and human rights. Over the past decade, USAID/DRC efforts were focused on breaking the link between conflict in the eastern DRC and the minerals trade, in coordination with the Congolese government, other U.S. government agencies, donors, the private sector, and civil society. U.S. Dodd-Frank legislation requires companies to report on the presence of conflict minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold) in their supply chains and how they conducted due diligence to assure human rights are not compromised. USAID programs have focused primarily on: 1) supporting the revised DRC Mining Code including the qualification and validation of mine sites to ensure they are free of violations prior to development, and 2) to stimulate market-based solutions to trace minerals from the mine site to the final buyer. USAID investments in minerals programs have focused principally on gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten, known as ‘3TG’. The illicit gold trade, estimated at over one billion dollars annually, diminishes long-term mineral value, exacerbates armed conflict and deprives DRC of vital tax revenue. To combat the illicit trade, USAID has recently focused on responsible gold sourcing by facilitating private sector transactions and by strengthening the capacity of the DRC government and civil society to monitor adherence to national and international standards.

More recently, the green energy transition has sparked increased interest by the USA and the global economies in the DRC’s vast mineral wealth, particularly for cobalt and other critical minerals. In June 2023, USAID/DRC launched the ATI Critical Minerals Activity to mobilize trade and responsible investment in the DRC’s critical minerals sector. The Activity seeks to support the integration of U.S. companies into global mineral supply chains and allow local companies to add more value, create better jobs, and strengthen the business enabling environment. The Activity aims to facilitate investment, provide transaction support, improve advocacy for U.S. businesses, and increase mining investments that promote and sustain environmental, social and governance standards.

Specific Scope of Work and Activities

The role of the Critical Minerals Advisor will be to support USAID DRC and ATI with expertise in critical mineral policy, processing, due diligence, and diversified market access and to effectively identify partnerships with mining operators (industrial and artisanal), work closely with private sector clients and public sector stakeholders, negotiate partnership relations between industrial miners and artisanal miners, ensure effective communications with USAID DRC and ATI. The Consultant will also undertake outreach to key mining stakeholders in the DRC and ensure adequate monitoring and evaluation of activities in support of ATI and the objectives of USAID DRC.

Technical Support

As instructed by ATI, the Consultant will provide technical assistance to the DRC mining companies and artisanal miners/cooperatives and other entities on sustainable mining practices, good governance, human rights and export policies. This support will be driven by what is needed by the private sector ecosystem, such as the artisanal sector needing access to markets or companies looking to diversify their buyers as well as their sources of raw materials. The Consultant will provide consultancy support for artisanal cooperatives and small-scale miners.

Outputs

• Attend reporting and consultative meetings with ATI and USAID to agree on the scope of work and expectations and document opportunities and risks identified for USAID and ATI.
• Serve as technical expert on mining-related issues in the DRC.
• Participate in and provide expertise during discussions with partners during the co-creation meetings for a well-structured process.
• Provide technical expertise to ATI and USAID during the evaluation of concepts submitted through the APS application process.
• Identify, support and facilitate partnerships with mining companies.
• Develop and maintain relationships with DRC mining sector stakeholders, including government officials, mining company representatives, civil society organizations, and others.
• Provide technical assistance to DRC mining companies on sustainable mining practices, good governance, and export policies where required.
• Report on Consultancy support provided for cooperatives and small-scale miners.
• Facilitate cross-border initiatives, e.g. DRC/Zambia Battery factory initiative.
• Assess challenges and opportunities associated with the increased demand for critical minerals and its implications for mining companies and ASM cooperatives.

Deliverables

• Weekly reports and/or trip reports from in-country travel
• Contact information shared for all key stakeholders involved in ATI implementation in DRC.
• Meeting notes of co-creation meetings attended/facilitated.
• Reports on technical assistance provided to companies, cooperatives or small-scale miners.

Timeline

This scope of work will run for a period of 20 days starting January 2024 to September2024.

Reporting

The Critical Minerals Advisor will report to the Southern Africa Regional Director.

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