NEWS... ISCOR / Congo deal "sealed"
Thursday October 29, 9:03 pm Eastern Time
biz.yahoo.com
FOCUS-Iscor seals agreement on Congo mine
By Darren Schuettler
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 29 (Reuters) - South African metal producer Iscor Ltd said on Thursday that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) had ratified a deal to rehabilitate a major copper/cobalt mine in the war-torn central African country.
In one of the few mining agreements sealed since a rebellion gripped the former Zaire three months ago, the government approved the deal signed last February between Iscor and state-owned mining giant Gecamines.
''The venture is expected to generate considerable foreign exchange for both Iscor and Gecamines,'' said Iscor Mining managing director Ben Alberts.
The Kamoto copper/cobalt mine is located in Congo's mineral rich Katanga province, which has been untouched by the civil war that erupted in August when rebels vowed to overthrow President Laurent Kabila.
Recent fighting near the diamond city of Mbuji-Mayi in a neighbouring province has raised fears that rebels are aiming for control of Katanga, the country's economic engine.
However, Iscor said operations at Kamoto had not been interrupted since the rebellion began.
Reviving the Congo's mining sector is key to rebuilding the country's shattered economy, but many foreign companies have yet to make substantial capital commitments due to delays in receiving final project approvals.
Joint venture partners in the Kolwezi tailings project resumed talks with the government earlier this month after delays caused by the rebellion. South Africa's Anglo American Corp and Toronto-listed America Mineral Fields (Toronto:AMZ.TO - news) set up a joint venture in August to develop the tailings site.
Iscor and Anglo American are also part of an international consortium seeking to develop a vast copper/cobalt project called Kolwezi Group West.
Iscor was optimistic that the DRC's ratification of the Kamoto project would be followed by others.
''This paves the way for Iscor and other South African companies to enter into mutually beneficial agreements with companies in other African countries to earn foreign exchange for the continent,'' Iscor said.
Kamoto's reserves are estimated at 50 million tonnes.
Iscor plans to build annual production up to at least two million tonnes within three to four years, yielding about 70,000 tonnes of copper and 5,000 tonnes of cobalt annually.
''Due to the exceptional quality of the Kamoto deposit, the operating cost per pound of copper will be in the lower quartile of the cost curve, which will ensure the project's robustness even during the current downturn in the commodity cycle,'' Alberts said. |
