(IDEX Online) - The US could lift sanctions on the mining billionaire Dan Gertler, according to a Wall Street Journal report, to access "clean energy" supplies of cobalt and copper.Gertler, an Israeli citizen who first made his fortune in diamonds, had his US assets frozen in 2017 over allegations about his business activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).The Treasury Department accused him of striking deals with the then-president Joseph Kabila that deprived the nation of $1.4bn in tax revenues.Yossi Cohen, as director of the Mossad intelligence agency and Ron Dermer, who was Israel's ambassador to the US, have both previously pleaded Gertler's case, citing his philanthropy and "relationships in the region that are important to Israel's interests".The US is said to be considering an end to sanctions. That would allow Gertler, who currently receives royalties from cobalt and copper in the DRC to sell stakes in the mines to Saudi Arabia and grant some production rights to the US.Donald Trump, who first imposed sanctions of Gertler, lifted them in the dying days of his presidency - a decision that his successor Joe Biden reversed weeks later.Cobalt and copper are vital for the production of electric vehicles and wind farms.