U.S.-based Virtus Minerals and India’s Lloyds Metals are now focused on the next phase of bringing Congolese copper and cobalt miner Chemaf back to full production, with a restart targeted for January 2027, according to a union executive.

The plan follows the Washington-backed takeover of the company and shifts attention from acquisition to execution on the ground.

The immediate move is operational: maintenance has paused activity at the Lubumbashi site while construction work is being accelerated at Chemaf’s facilities in Kolwezi and Lubumbashi, according to Reuters. That forward-looking push comes after the DRC government approved the transfer of control to Virtus in March, clearing a key regulatory step in the transaction, according to a Virtus statement.

The ownership structure also shows how the project is being positioned for the next stage. A Lloyds Metals filing says the acquisition was completed through Virtus Lloyds Minerals Holding, with Virtus holding 51% and a Lloyds-linked entity holding 49%, and describes Chemaf as the first major transaction under that framework.

That gives the restart wider significance beyond one mining asset. Chemaf has become an early real-world test of efforts by U.S.-linked and allied investors to build alternative critical-minerals supply chains from the DRC and reduce Western dependence on Chinese-controlled processing routes.