DR Congo will invest $100 million to create a paramilitary force to provide security at its mines, with funding provided by the US and United Arab Emirates. The investment will back a security drive that will see it hire 20,000 mining guards by 2028, Bloomberg reported.

DR Congo, the world’s top cobalt producer and Africa’s leading copper supplier, has in recent months agreed a partnership with Washington that grants US companies preferential access to mining assets. The deal — a key plank in America’s attempt to catch up with China’s control of critical mineral supply chains — includes commitments by Kinshasa to tackle insecurity in its mining industry and improve the country’s business climate.

Security is a major concern for mining companies looking to enter DR Congo and has held back the development of extractive industries in Africa’s second-largest nation by land mass, which for years has fought rebels in the east of the country.