CAPE TOWN - US-backed investment vehicle TechMet is looking to raise up to $200 million in additional funds as it seeks to finance critical minerals projects, CEO Brian Menell said on Monday.

Privately-held TechMet, which owns stakes in 10 companies including Brazilian Nickel and South Africa's Rainbow Rare Earths, last year raised $300-million, including $180-million from the Qatar Investment Authority. 

TechMet, which is valued at more than $1-billion and focuses on building businesses across the critical minerals value chain, has since reopened fundraising.

"We decided to keep it open in order to seek another one or 200-million (dollars), which we're busy concluding now," Menell told Reuters on the sidelines of an African mining conference in Cape Town. "There has been a lot of additional appetite for further investment beyond the target that we originally set ourselves."

RACE TO SECURE CRITICAL MINERAL SUPPLIES
The US government's International Development Finance Corp is one of TechMet's biggest investors, while others include Mercuria, S2G Investments and Lansdowne Partners.

In Africa, the US is engaged in a competitive race with China to secure supplies of the continent's copper, cobalt and other critical minerals, with Washington's focus being on Zambia, Guinea and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Menell said that while TechMet is open to new investment opportunities, including in countries such as Congo and Zambia, its current focus was on advancing existing projects.

"We're certainly open to the DRC. It's a very important country, and at some point, we want to have a significant involvement in the DRC. What that point is, we'll see," he said.

"Nothing immediate, but we're certainly engaged and open to opportunities."

Congo accounts for more than 70% of global cobalt supplies and is also the world's second-biggest copper producer.

Zambia also offers compelling prospects, Menell added, citing its appeal primarily for copper and, to a lesser extent, cobalt and other minerals.