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Gold/Mining/Energy : Tenke Mining Corp (TNK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greywolf who wrote (281)	11/27/1998 10:36:00 AM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 486

Tenke Mining moves step closer on Congo mine By Darren Schuettler JOHANNESBURG, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Canadian prospector Tenke Mining Corp said Friday it has moved a step closer to completing a feasibility study on its $475 million copper-cobalt project in the war torn Democratic Republic of the Congo. Project manager Philip Wright told Reuters that consultant Kilborn SNC Lavalin (Toronto:SNC.TO - news) has completed its work on the Tenke Fungurume project located in Congo's Katanga province. ''For all intents and purposes Kilborn's work is finished,'' Wright said in a telephone interview. ''We're waiting for some information from (state-owned mining firm) Gecamines and final tests from Johannesburg before we can incorporate the results into the feasibility study,'' he added. Wright rejected media reports that the company had suspended the massive project due to a bloody rebellion in the mineral rich central African country. Congolese rebels said on Friday that they were still pushing into Katanga province, home to the country's vast copper mines. ''We have not made any decisions in that regard. We are watching the situation in the DRC just like everyone else. I think that's all that one can do at this stage,'' he said. Tenke Fungurume was one of the first foreign mining projects to win government approval in the Congo. The site has an estimated 500 million tonnes of resources grading 3.5 percent copper and 0.27 percent percent cobalt. The project is forecast to produce 100,00 tonnes of copper annually for the first four years, climbing to 200,000 tonnes in the fifth year. Cobalt output is estimated at 6,000 tonnes per year, rising to 13,000 tonnes in year five. Tenke has spent about $90 million on the project so far. Wright declined to put a timetable on completion of the feasibility study, saying that a prediction was difficult in the wake of a leadership shakeup at Gecamines. Congo President Laurent Kabila surprised mining insiders two weeks ago when he appointed Zimbabwean businessman Billy Rautenbach as Gecamines' chairman with a mandate to turnaround the money-losing mining giant. ''I think one could say Gecamines is a little preoccupied at the moment and given the situation down there I don't think we could make any prediction on time,'' Wright said. Kabila has defended Rautenbach's appointment and rejected allegations that he was selling out the potential mineral wealth of the country. ''The state doesn't benefit from (Gecamines) so we named Mr Billy to head Gecamines, not because he is Zimbabwean, but because he is a good manager. There is no economic sell-off,'' Kabila told Belgian radio during a visit to Belgium. Wright declined to comment on the controversy over Rautenbach's appointment, but he expected no change in Tenke's relationship with Gecamines. ''It's a decision for the DRC to determine who heads up their different institutions. It won't have an impact on our contracts,'' he said. Meanwhile, Tenke is still searching for partners to invest in its project, but nothing has been finalised since the company's announcement in July that it was speaking with several major mining companies. While Tenke has not named potential partners, analysts have speculated the list includes South Africa's Anglo American Corp , Britain's Billiton Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BLT.L) and U.S.-based Phelps Dodge (NYSE:PD - news). biz.yahoo.com