Accélération: Camec se marie avec Gertler
SOMMAIRE:
Les Chinois n' ont pas encore vu le Congo
Le gouvernement minier est dehors: Camec épouse Gertler
Une photo des mineurs oubliés
Les ONGs veulent qu' on aille jusqu' au bout de la révisitation
A Kinshasa, on récupère la révisitation
Les revisités réagissent au projet de rapport
Les Chinois n' ont pas encore vu le Congo
La Gazette de Lubumbashi Attendons voir la concrétisation de toutes ces belles intentions, attendons de voir les chinois faire face aux ministères, administrations, mentalités et autres réalités du Congo.
Le gouvernement minier est dehors: Camec épouse Gertler
Znews Barry Sergeant It’s no secret that certain DRC officials (and certain private sector individuals) are keen to progress a promised $5bn investment from Chinese sources, by settling certain DRC mining interests in return. On the other hand, within the private sector, high level battles continue over titles to the fabulously rich mineral resources found across the DRC.
Hemscott LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Central African Mining & Exploration Co PLC (CAMEC) and Prairie Intl Ltd plan to set up a joint venture in the Democratic Republic of Congo to operate and develop the Mukondo Mountain cobalt mine. The venture will also develop the mining concession areas previously known as C17, C18, C19 and C21 in the central Katanga region of the country. The joint venture requires the support of the DRC government. CAMEC is currently awaiting a court decision later this month as to whether some of its mining licences could be revoked in the country. The companies, which will provide initial loan funding to the venture of 15 mln usd each, plan to obtain a separate listing for the venture on the London or Toronto Stock Exchanges. Prairie Intl's major shareholder is a trust for members of the family of diamond merchant Dan Gertler.
miningmx.com Allan Seccombe CAMEC will create a new listed mining company for its DRC copper and cobalt assets by forming a joint venture with diamond merchant Dan Gertler’s Prairie International Ltd. Central African Mining & Exploration Company (CAMEC) will transfer its 80% stake in BOSS Mining, a DRC-registered company, into the joint venture company. BOSS holds half of Mukondo Mining and concessions C19 and C21, for which the government has revoked the licences. The matter is before the courts in the Congo. The DRC justice ministry released a statement at the end of August this year detailing the revocation of the licences. It said C19 had reverted to state-owned miner Gecamines. Prairie owns Tremalt Ltd, which owns 80% of Savannah Mining, the holder of the other half of Mukondo as well as concessions C17 and C18 in the mineral-rich Katanga province. Tremalt will be transferred into the joint venture vehicle. “The two companies are very familiar with the Mukondo mine and surrounding concessions and are in the best position to develop and operate, while benefiting their shareholders and the people of DRC alike,” Andrew Groves, CAMEC CEO, said in a statement. The transaction is subject to approval from state-owned minerals company Gecamines, which is the 20% stakeholder in both BOSS and Savannah. A memorandum of understanding has been signed between CAMEC and Prairie, which will both provide a loan of $15m each to the joint venture company. The joint venture vehicle will be listed in either London or Toronto.
Znews Barry Sergeant It’s no secret that certain DRC officials (and certain private sector individuals) are keen to progress a promised $5bn investment from Chinese sources, by settling certain DRC mining interests in return. On the other hand, within the private sector, high level battles continue over titles to the fabulously rich mineral resources found across the DRC
Une photo des mineurs oubliés
Photo sur : http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/threat-to-congo-deals/2007/11/05/1194117959169.html
Les ONGs veulent qu' on aille jusqu' au bout de la révisitation
Broederlijk Delen, 11.11.11 (Belgium), Global Witness (UK), NIZA (Netherlands), RAID (UK), Urgewald (Germany) , : Carter Center, Human Rights Clinic of the University of ColumbiaL’Entraide missionnaire, Mines Alerte Canada Berlin, Brussels, Kinshasa, London, Montreal, Ottawa, Washington The mandate of the Commission, is to “examine partnership contracts and their impact on the recovery of these companies and national development, to propose, if necessary, modalities for their revision with a view to correcting any imbalances and related faults.” At the present time, it is imperative for the government to make the full report public in order to put an end to the uncertainty and suspicion which are tarnishing the mining sector and to enable all concerned to react publicly. Furthermore, the authorities should announce the measures that will be taken to follow up the commission’s recommendations as well as the rules which will govern the pending renegotiation of mining contracts. If conducted properly, this initiative could herald a new era of transparency and equity in negotiations around both present and future contracts.
" Finally, we call on Congo’s friends as well as international financial institutions, some of whom have themselves documented the unfairness and impropriety of certain mining contracts, to provide all the support necessary to ensure that the process launched by the governmental commission is allowed to proceed. If, in the course of its investigations, the Commission has uncovered gross malpractice and the DRC Government is unwilling or unable to take the recommended action then it is the responsibility of the home governments to hold their companies to account. For the Congolese population, this would be a clear sign of international support for the establishment of transparent practices of good governance and the fight against corruption. Ensuring peace, reconstructing the country and alleviating poverty all depend on the outcome of the mining contracts’ review".
A Kinshasa, on récupère la révisitation
LePhare Tharcisse LOSEKE NEMBALEMBA Le rapport stigmatise le caractère léonin de tous les contrats miniers revisités.Quelle sera la finalité de ce rapport ? La Commission a donné suffisamment de renseignements au Gouvernement pour permettre à ce dernier d’agir. Il y a de quoi donner des insomnies aux signataires de ces contrats ainsi qu’aux bénéficiaires de plantureuses commissions. Certains parlementaires de la majorité (députés et sénateurs) se disent non concernés par ce rapport initié par le Gouvernement et au nom, selon eux, de la séparation des pouvoirs entre les Institutions de la République. C’est une véritable fuite en avant pour endormir les naïfs dans la mesure où l’Assemblée Nationale garde dans ses tiroirs le fameux rapport de la « Commission Lutundula » dont personne ne veut entendre parler. Nous pensons que c’est le moment de convoquer une large Table Ronde sur la gestion de nos ressources naturelles. Cette proposition avait été faite, en son temps, par la Société Civile, Forces vives. Où est passée cette Société civile? Où sont les Eglises, notamment la CENCO (Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo) ? La maison brûle et le moment n’est plus à la dénonciation, mais à l’action. Que l’on ne s’y méprenne pas, car le peuple congolais, malgré son extrême pauvreté, garde encore toute sa lucidité et sa capacité de réagir.
...... mining industry sources said Congo Deputy Minister of Mines Victor Kasongo had appeared on TV on Sunday to say the report obtained by the wire services was not the final version. When the final report was ready, it would be submitted to the mines minister who would make recommendations to the Congo cabinet.
Bloomberg -- The Democratic Republic of Congo said concern that a government review will lead to some mining licenses being canceled is based on ``grossly misleading'' information leaked from an early draft document. ``It is not the real or final report,'' Congo's Minister of Mines Martin Kabwelulu said today in an interview in the country's capital, Kinshasa. ``The data is data from the commission, but it is data that has been revised.'' ``It is expected that after all irregularities have been corrected, the great majority of companies currently in the DRC will remain in the country for the long term,'' Kabwelulu said in an earlier e-mailed statement distributed by London-based public relations firm Bell Pottinger.
Reuters "The speculation is not based on any official document but on a leak of an early draft from within the commission," the statement said. "The government deplores the leaking of this draft and the uncertainty that it has understandably created." (Reporting by Joe Bavier; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Peter Blackburn) -
KINSHASA Democratic Republic of Congo's mines minister said most mining companies operating in the country would remain in the long term despite a review of contracts being carried out by the government. "It is expected that after all irregularities have been corrected, the great majority of companies currently in the Democratic Republic of Congo will remain in the country for the long term," Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu said. The DRC government regretted the leak and sought to reassure the companies involved. "The speculation is not based on any official document but on a leak of an early draft from within the commission," the statement said. "The government deplores the leaking of this draft and the uncertainty that it has understandably created."
Les revisités réagissent au projet de rapport
NIKANOR BusinessReport Brett Foley and Franz Wild "Nikanor has received no official notification of the recommendations of the commission," said Richard Boorman, the company's spokesperson. "When that changes, we will inform the market."
TIGER RESOURCES Businessday Jamie Freed Another Australian explorer, Tiger Resources, saw its shares fall 4.5c to 37.5c yesterday. Tiger investor relations head Richard Taylor said his company had received no formal indication of the review's outcome. "It's only a media story out of the Congo," he said. "It's nothing official. Our understanding of the process is that the commission's recommendations are now to be reviewed by cabinet and a third party [such as the World Bank or Rothschilds]." Tiger owns the Kipoi copper project, which Euroz Securities analyst Andrew Clayton deemed a "high risk/high reward" proposition in a July report. "There is no denying that there are risks involved in operating in the DRC," Mr Clayton said.
BHP Billiton ResourceInvestor Charlotte Mathews BHP Billiton spokeswoman Bronwyn Wilkinson said the group supported the mining licence review as it was a move towards greater transparency and part of the government’s initiatives to create a good investment climate. “We have been encouraged by the recent positive political developments in the Congo, especially the holding of successful democratic elections, and are further encouraged by various initiatives undertaken by the government to bring peace and stability to all parts of the Congo. The government is working hard to put in place investment conditions conducive to attracting companies such as ours to invest in the Congo.” Billiton is involved in one contract under review, a joint venture with Miba on early stage diamond exploration in the Kasai region. The group had not been contacted by the Congo government or the commission about the report, Wilkinson said.
Businessday Jamie Freed BHP Billiton, which is exploring for copper and diamonds in the DRC, said it did not expect the review to have a major effect on its operations. "Our minerals exploration licences have been concluded under the new legislation," a BHP spokeswoman, Emma Meade, said. "Only one contract … is on the list of those under review. We have not been called to testify."
ANGLOGOLD ResourceInvestor Charlotte Mathews AngloGold executive officer of corporate affairs Steve Lenahan said AngloGold had one concession in the Congo which was not yet a mining project, and it had said previously it was happy to have the licence reviewed. It had been contacted by the commission during the review and had had several dealings with it. AngloGold did not know officially how advanced the mining licence review process was and had not seen a report, Lenahan said.
KMT MiningMx The report is said to have called for a 2004 decree authorising the creation of KMT Plc, of which First Quantum Minerals is the major stakeholder, to be repealed. “There’s been no official announcement of any description,” said Clive Newell, president of First Quantum, pointing out the government had still to decide on a course of action once it had reviewed the panel’s recommendations. “It’s a complex situation because some of the licences are held by companies in which the government and Gecamines are shareholders,” he said. “It could take some time and I guess it’s going to be a drawn out process.” “We’ll wait for the official announcement. There’s nothing we can do now. We don’t know what the problem is with the contract, if that (leaked) report is real,” he said. First Quantum has just brought its Frontier mine in the DRC on stream and it is approaching full production. “We’ll continue to be good corporate citizens, paying our taxes and royalties and wait and see what the outcome is,” Newell said.
ANVIL MONTREAL, CNW/ - Anvil Mining Limited has responded to news reports that the Commission appointed to review mining contracts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ("DRC") and which reports to the Minister of Mines in the DRC, has recommended that 61 of those contracts be renegotiated or terminated. The recommendations appear to relate to almost all of the companies which hold mining rights in the country without regard to the timing or basis upon which they were negotiated. News reports have stated that the Commission will recommend the termination of Anvil's contractual rights to the Dikulushi copper-silver mine as well as the rights to 23 other contracts held by other companies. In addition, news reports have stated that Anvil's joint venture in respect of the Mutoshi property (which includes the Kulu Mine) and lease agreement with respect to the Kinsevere-Nambulwa property (which includes the Kinsevere Mine) have been recommended for renegotiation along with another 35 contracts held by other companies.
Anvil confirmed that it has received no written communication from the Minister of Mines or the Commission (or any other government body in the DRC) in respect of renegotiation or termination of any agreement to which Anvil or any of its subsidiaries is a party. Anvil understands that the Commission is to report to the Minister of Mines and that the Commission is mandated to issue recommendations only and does not appear to have the power itself to renegotiate or terminate any contract. Accordingly, Anvil can offer no comment on whether any of its contractual arrangements in the DRC will actually beterminated or renegotiated. Nor can it comment on the terms of any such renegotiation or termination.
METOREX BusinessIafrica South African mining group Metorex said that it regarded its investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as legal in accordance with that country's Mining Code. "It is our understanding that only the Minister of Mines is authorised to communicate its findings and proposals to the mining companies and public arena," it added. "Metorex is of the opinion that the media release is an unauthorised breach of protocol and the content has no locus standing. The report of the Commission still requires discussion and amendment prior to presentation to the government and release by it. "With regard to the Metorex investments in the DRC, it stands by its view that the mining titles and joint venture agreements have been entered into in accordance with the provisions of the Mining Code and have followed due legal process," Metorex stated.