FACTBOX-China's quest for Africa's minerals
Thu May 21, 2009 7:46pm IST
in.reuters.com
May 21 (Reuters) - Chinese companies have plunged into a renewed quest for mining and related projects in Africa, using reserves of cash unavailable to Western competitors to scoop up assets at steep discounts, a seminar heard on Thursday.
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Following are some of the more recent deals signed or in the pipeline:
* In May, Zambia picked NFC Africa, a subsidiary of China Non-ferrous Metals Corporation (CNMC), to run its Luanshya Copper Mines, which shut in December due to the collapse in copper prices but which will reopen this month.
* CNMC and Yunnan Copper Industry are about to commission a $300 million copper smelter producing 150,000 tonnes per year in Zambia's Chambishi town, which has been transformed into a tax-free economic zone to attract Chinese investment.
* In April China granted Niger a $95 million preferential loan for the SOMINA uranium mining operation, a joint venture between China National Uranium Corporation and the Niger government. The mine is due to come on line in 2010.
* Democratic Republic of Congo vowed in March to press ahead with a $9 billion deal agreed with Beijing in 2007 to provide copper and cobalt in return for infrastructure such as roads, schools and hospitals.
* In January, China Union signed a $2.6 billion contract to develop Liberia's Bong iron ore deposits, estimated at 300 million tonnes of low-grade ore. The first iron ore pellets are expected in mid-2010.
It has not all been plain sailing:
* Guinea, the world's top exporter of bauxite aluminium ore, had hoped for its own deal with China to build hydropower dams, roads and bridges in return for mines.
However, talks have been hampered by political instability and a coup in December after the death of President Lansana Conte.
* Gabon, similarly eager to cement a $3 billion contract to develop the 360-million-tonne Belinga iron ore deposit, has accused its Chinese partners of dragging their feet in the uncertain economic environment. (Writing by Ed Cropley, Editing by Anthony Barker) |
