Battery Metals Boom: DRC-Africa Forum Shifts to Kolwezi for Its Biggest Edition Yet

It’s official, DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum is moving to Kolwezi and is taking place from 29-30 September 2025.

In what is already the third edition of this event, the focus is on the region’s potential in the global energy transition, including leveraging the DRC and Zambia’s significant cobalt and copper resources for battery precursor manufacturing. Overall, the DRC envisions a future where it plays a pivotal role in the global battery metals supply chain, contributing to the energy transition while fostering economic development and sustainability in the region.

Industry has spoken

“The industry has spoken, and we have listened. We are ready for this next chapter of DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum. Get ready Kolwezi, there’s a new event in town!” enthuses VUKA Group Event Director for Mining Samukelo Madlabane.

He explains: “We always consult with our partners and clients in the industry, and there was overwhelming consensus that this event will serve the sector better by moving closer to it. We expect to improve our engagement with the mining houses, operators and suppliers on the ground and to offer our guests a valuable in-situ experience to meet, network, share knowledge and experiences, and to do business.”

Kolwezi, the capital of Lualaba Province, has been an important mining hub since the 1940s. The region is particularly known for its generous copper reserves and cobalt stocks. These metals are essential to the electrical industry, battery precursor production, mobile phones and computers as well as aircraft engines, and are the country’s main resources.

Battery metals industry

The DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum has quickly developed into the premier regional gathering for stakeholders involved in the African battery metals industry, including producers of cobalt, copper, lithium, nickel, graphite, manganese, rare earths, and 3T, as well as battery manufacturers, traders, end-users, investors and NGOs.

With a focus on fostering an open and transparent environment, the meeting serves as a crucial driving force behind the establishment of a battery manufacturing industry in the DRC, driven by the growing demand for batteries and electric vehicles. To this end, the event provides a comprehensive platform that unites stakeholders from across the battery metals industry to foster partnerships and dialogue, enabling a local industrial revolution through beneficiation and industrialisation.

Another important driving force is inclusive and sustainable growth in the battery metals industry, promoting and supporting local beneficiation and sustainable development, stimulating local market economies and development economies, and enabling local industrial development in order to foster socio-economic progress in the DRC and Africa.

Here is some enthusiastic feedback from previous high-level attendees:

– “This is my second DRC Battery Metals Forum: I participated in the first edition and this one as well provides a very good platform for all the stakeholders to get together and discuss the challenges and opportunities for battery metals in the DRC. So, thank you to the presenters and organizers. I think that to many the questions raised this year really need a follow up and to have further discussion about the business climate in the DRC and how to encourage investment in the country.” – H.E. Lucy Tamlyn, US Ambassador, DRC

– “The DRC-Africa Battery Forum provided a vital platform for key stakeholders, including both government and private entities, who shared a keen interest in the sector. It has proven to be an invaluable resource, facilitating connections with key experts in the field. The organizers have done a splendid job.” – Adorin Amngaihnem Guitec, General Manager, Arise IIP, India

About DRC–Africa Battery Metals Forum
DRC–Africa Battery Metals Forum is organized by The VUKA Group (formerly Clarion Events Africa), a leading Cape Town-based and multi-award-winning organiser of exhibitions, conferences, and digital events across the continent in the infrastructure, energy, mining, mobility, e-commerce, and CX sectors. Other well-known events by The Vuka Group include DRC Mining Week, Nigeria Mining Week, Enlit Africa, Africa’s Green Economy Summit, Smarter Mobility Africa, ECOM Afric, and CEM Africa. Mining Review Africa, the leading monthly magazine and digital platform in the African mining industry is the event’s premium media partner.