Mercuria-Gécamines Joint Venture Secures 240,000-Tonne Zinc Concentrate Offtake Deal, Opening DRC Export Channel

## Mercuria-Gécamines Joint Venture Secures Major Zinc Concentrate Offtake Agreement Commodity trading giant Mercuria has announced the finalisation of an offtake agreement between Gécamines, the Democratic Republic of Congo's state-owned mining enterprise, and Kipushi Corporation, positioning the central African nation as a substantial new exporter of zinc concentrate to global markets. According to a PR Newswire release issued from Geneva on 16 October 2026, the joint venture between Mercuria and Gécamines will be responsible for marketing approximately 240,000 tonnes (kt) of Kipushi zinc concentrate annually. The deal marks Gécamines' formal entry as a major participant in international zinc concentrate trade. ### Maritime and Logistics Significance For the maritime and bulk shipping sector, the agreement carries notable implications. Zinc concentrate is a heavy bulk commodity typically transported in handysize or supramax dry bulk vessels, and a new 240,000-tonne annual export programme from the DRC represents a meaningful addition to global bulk cargo flows. Routing from the landlocked DRC typically involves overland transit — most commonly through Zambia and on to southern African ports such as Durban or Dar es Salaam — before onward ocean freight to smelters predominantly located in Europe and Asia. The involvement of Mercuria, one of the world's largest independent energy and commodity trading houses, lends significant commercial weight to the arrangement and suggests well-established logistics and shipping infrastructure will be deployed to handle the volumes. ### Context: Kipushi Mine Restart The Kipushi mine, located in the Haut-Katanga province of the DRC, is operated by Ivanhoe Mines and is recognised as one of the world's highest-grade zinc deposits. The mine returned to production in 2024 after decades of care-and-maintenance status, and the formalisation of this offtake agreement with Gécamines and Mercuria represents a key commercial milestone in its ramp-up to full capacity. Zinc is a critical mineral used extensively in galvanising steel and in battery technology, and demand from both traditional industrial sectors and the energy transition supply chain continues to support prices and investment in new supply sources. ### Outlook With the offtake structure now in place, market participants in the dry bulk shipping sector will be watching closely for tender activity and freight enquiries linked to Kipushi concentrate shipments. The establishment of a reliable, large-volume export programme from a high-grade African source is expected to attract competitive interest from bulk carriers serving southern African load ports. *Source: PR Newswire / Mercuria press release, 16 October 2026.*