In 2016, Freeport-McMoRan, a mining company based in Arizona, made a deal to sell a site in Congo that is crucial to China's control over the global cobalt supply. Cobalt is essential for electric car batteries and transitioning away from fossil fuels. Perriello, a US diplomat in Africa at the time, raised concerns in the State Department about the deal. Kapanga, the Congolese general manager of the mine, pleaded with the American ambassador in Congo to intervene, warning that the deal was a mistake and risking the strong relationships built over generations in Congo, a major source of cobalt. Starting with Dwight D Eisenhower, presidents had provided significant financial assistance, including military equipment, to the mineral-rich nation. Richard Nixon and the State Department under Hillary Clinton also played a role in maintaining this relationship. Freeport-McMoRan had invested billions before selling the mine to a Chinese company. The Chinese purchase of Tenke Fungurume mine occurred during the Obama administration, and four years later, the same company, China Molybdenum, purchased an even larger cobalt reserve during the end of the Trump presidency. China has taken the lead over the United States in dominating the auto industry's electrification race by pursuing Congo's cobalt wealth through a disciplined strategy. The New York Times investigation uncovered a hidden history of cobalt acquisitions, revealing that the United States essentially handed over the resources to China without safeguarding decades of diplomatic and financial investments in Congo. Perriello, who has since left government, was made aware of the plan to sell Tenke Fungurume in 2016 after visiting the mine and learning about the owner's questionable reputation in other countries. Despite this, he believed that American ownership of the mine would benefit both the United States and the people of Congo. Freeport-McMoRan received positive feedback for their operations in Congo, where they employed many locals, built schools and clinics, and provided clean water. Perriello tried to keep the mine under American control by discussing it with Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who was an assistant secretary of state at the time. However, only Chinese companies were serious bidders, highlighting the importance of taking action. In an interview, Kathleen L Quirk, the president of Freeport-McMoRan, stated that they were able to move swiftly and more quickly than anyone else, which allowed them to successfully complete the deal. Freeport-McMoRan had been determined to sell due to a bad investment in the oil and gas industry, resulting in accumulating debt. The company had no choice but to sell its Congo operations. The American response to the transaction was primarily financial in nature. The country lacks oversight of American companies' transactions abroad, which has exposed significant blind spots of US leaders. According to previously unreported documents, emails, and interviews with various individuals, the Chinese government excels at exploiting such opportunities. In the past year, as the clean energy transition has picked up pace, the US government and private sector have been working to recover from past mistakes by seeking new cobalt supplies and using cobalt-free batteries in some electric cars. However, these efforts pale in comparison to Chinese attempts to control critical resources like cobalt and lithium for a green future. In 1970, Nixon played Cold War Gamesmanship outside the White House with the first lady. President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, now Congo, was preparing for a visit. It had been ten years since Congo gained independence from Belgium, and as the leader of a country rich in natural resources, Mobutu held significant global influence. He not only controlled these resources but also played a crucial role as a mediator for the United States in preventing the Soviet Union from expanding its influence in Africa. Access to minerals and metals in Congo had been a major priority for the United States since World War II, with Albert Einstein even writing to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939 recommending the stockpiling of Congolese uranium for the development of atomic bombs. By the mid-1960s, the CIA had established a large operation in the country, funding mercenaries and Congolese troops to suppress rebels with the help of US warplanes. Mobutu, who would later become a corrupt dictator, saw the Americans as a valuable partner in developing the country's mining wealth. He reached out to Maurice Tempelsman, a New York diamond merchant, to discuss mining rights in Tenke Fungurume. However, just before his trip to Washington in August 1970, Mobutu unexpectedly announced that he had chosen a Belgian company to develop the mine. Washington went into emergency mode to reclaim the concession, and was extremely generous. Herman J Cohen, an American diplomat in Congo, remembered Nixon instructing his administration to give Mobutu whatever he wanted. Hundreds of millions of dollars in US aid had already been sent to Mobutu, and Nixon now decided to provide him with several C-130 transport planes. The situation escalated at a formal dinner for Mobutu at the White House, according to Cohen. After eating, Tempelsman took Mobutu on a private boat trip on the Potomac. Soon after, news arrived that the Americans would be receiving the mining concession. Mark Mollison, a mining engineer from New York City, went to southeastern Congo to visit Tenke Fungurume, which was now an abandoned construction site. Mollison was surprised by what he saw. He observed hilltops that had patches of land without vegetation where copper and cobalt were visible. Mollison remembered that the ore was much more valuable than what they were previously mining in Arizona. In the late 1990s, Mollison was part of a new group of mining executives who had come to take over from the Tempelsman group, which had left two decades earlier after facing obstacles that led to them spending $250 million before pulling out. These obstacles included rebels who disrupted transportation of the cobalt and copper to the sea by shutting down a crucial railroad. Kissinger, the secretary of state, helped draft a cable in January 1976 to apologize to the Congolese government for the project being put on hold, expressing deep regret on behalf of the United States. Many years after Mobutu was ousted, interest in the region was sparked again when rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila seized valuable land near Tenke and Fungurume, the towns that the mine was named after. This led to a surge in interest from Western mining executives and Wall Street bankers, who gathered in the region to secure financial commitments for mining access from Kabila's representatives. One banker summarized Kabila's perspective in a memo as "Rules of the game: you give and I give." Lundin Group, a Canadian mining company, was so determined to finalize a deal that it agreed to give $50 million to the rebels. When Mollison arrived several months later, his task was to assess whether his company, now known as Freeport-McMoRan, should partner with Lundin to complete Tempelsman's work at Tenke Fungurume. Freeport-McMoRan later touted this project as the largest private investment in Congo. Mollison wondered what the area would require, mentioning electric power as a necessity. There was a significant amount of infrastructure, including roads and ample water supply, at the mine. Freeport-McMoRan acquired a majority stake of 57.75%, Lundin held 24.75%, and Gécamines retained 17.5%. Despite a civil war in Congo in 2007, the project began operating at full capacity by the end of the year. Freeport-McMoRan engaged in a period of extensive construction, including building a highway to facilitate the export of cobalt and copper in Africa and investing $215 million in upgrading a hydroelectric plant. This development was highly regarded by Pierrot Kitobo Sambisaya, a former metallurgist at the mine, who described it as very impressive. As a result, Freeport-McMoRan established itself as one of the most advanced and efficient cobalt and copper mines globally. Freeport-McMoRan made a significant mistake by investing in fossil fuels instead of focusing on mining, which resulted in the company accumulating a large amount of debt. Despite feeling regretful, CEO Richard Adkerson announced in May 2016 that the company would sell Tenke Fungurume to alleviate some of its financial burdens. China Molybdenum emerged as the top bidder, offering $2.65 billion for the asset. The executives at the mine, including Kapanga, who had experience as a Congolese presidential adviser and diplomat, were troubled by the news. Kapanga expressed his concerns to the American ambassador, James Swan, stating that Tenke Fungurume was a valuable asset that the United States should not let go of. Swan declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The New York Times. At that time, American diplomats in Congo were focused on persuading President Joseph Kabila to step down from office. He assumed power after his father was killed in 2001 and proceeded to steal millions of dollars from the public treasury over the next 15 years. The sale of Tenke Fungurume was finalized in November 2016, but it received limited coverage in the United States, mainly in financial news outlets. President Donald Trump's administration showed interest in countering China's control over mineral resources early on, with reports on cobalt and the risk of supply shortages, including the sale of Tenke Fungurume. Despite this, history repeated itself as Freeport-McMoRan continued to own an undeveloped site with a significant cobalt source. The US government showed minimal reaction when the company announced its intention to sell the site, known as Kisanfu, late last year. According to Nazak Nikakhtar, former Commerce Department assistant secretary, there was a lack of discussion about the sale, which eventually went through to China Molybdenum for $550 million just before Trump's term ended. The final significant American investment in Congo's cobalt and copper mines disappeared as a result. © 2021 The New York Times Company.