The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has launched a $100 million, U.S.- and UAE-backed plan to establish a paramilitary force to secure its vast mining sector.

The General Inspectorate of Mines (IGM) said in a statement that the new “mining guard” is a “paramilitary special unit intended to secure the entire mineral exploitation chain” in the country. An initial contingent of between 2,500 and 3,000 recruits is expected to become operational by December 2026 after completing six months of training in collaboration with the military.

According to the IGM, the force will be deployed gradually across the country’s mining regions and is expected to grow to more than 20,000 personnel by the end of 2028, covering all 22 mining provinces under its supervision.

Its security duties include securing mine sites and escorting mineral shipments from extraction areas to processing facilities and border posts.

The initiative comes as Congo, which produces about 70% of the world’s cobalt, a key component in electric vehicle batteries and defense technologies, and also holds large reserves of copper, lithium, coltan and gold, struggles with insecurity in its mineral-rich eastern regions, where a Rwanda-backed M23 has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands.

“The will of the President of the Republic is to clean up the entire mining sector, by eliminating practices that run counter to good governance, transparency and the traceability of minerals,” said Rafael Kabengele, the country’s inspector general of mines.

Washington is seeking to reduce China’s dominance over critical mineral supply chains in the DRC. Last year, the DRC and the U.S. signed a minerals partnership under which American firm Virtus Minerals took over copper and cobalt mining company Chemaf.

Other Western companies have also expressed interest in acquiring mining assets in the country, including some located in rebel-held territory.

The DRC and Rwanda signed an agreement in December that provides a roadmap aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo following U.S.-brokered talks in Washington. The accord includes an economic component intended to ensure U.S. high-tech companies have access to strategic minerals.

Negotiations between M23 rebels and the Congolese government are ongoing, but fighting continues on multiple fronts in the east.