In what’s being hailed as a major win for the Trump administration against Chinese domination of the rare earth minerals market, the U.S. has supported an American company, Virtus Minerals, in developing two major mines producing cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This is claimed to be the first U.S. rare earth minerals acquisition in the African nation since President Trump announced the Washington Accord last December. Historically, China has been the heavy