CMOC to resume operations minerals exports from Congo
China’s CMOC is set to resume operations of minerals exports from Congo. Congo’s finance minister confirmed the report and said an agreement on royalties has been reached between the government and CMOC.
Copper and cobalt exports from Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) were suspended in July after an escalation in a dispute between its shareholders Gecamines and CMOC. The dispute, which spilled into court, came after allegations by the government that its Chinese partners were understating income generated and the quantities of reserves yet to be mined, in the process defrauding the DRC of billions of dollars. Congo’s president, Felix Tshisekedi, last year named a commission to investigate the allegations.
Growing demand in copper and cobalt
The suspension ruling was issued by the Commercial Court of Lubumbashi in favor of the government and its people. The court effectively removed all Chinese directors from day-to-day operations of the mine.
With the reached agreement, President Tshisekedi is expected to travel to China in the coming weeks “to seal the renewal of Chinese contracts”. The Democratic Republic of the Congo produces an estimated 70% of the world’s cobalt, and most of it comes from the city of Kolwezi. Cobalt, which is mainly produced as a byproduct of copper and nickel, was ignored for a long time in favor of those more in-demand minerals. But now, the world is turning to it for its essential role in lithium-ion batteries for phones and electric vehicles, or EVs.
