Huge DRC mine set to open near Uganda
Jul 25, 2010
MINING firm Randgold Resources says it is to begin mining Africa’s largest undeveloped gold deposit - in eastern DR Congo. The mine will require the re-location of 15,000 people, but Randgold says the project has the support of the government and the local community.
KINSHASHA
MINING firm Randgold Resources says it is to begin mining Africa’s largest undeveloped gold deposit - in eastern DR Congo. The mine will require the re-location of 15,000 people, but Randgold says the project has the support of the government and the local community.
The mine is thought to have a reserve of about 320 tonnes of gold, it says.
It is as big as any of the current mines in South Africa, one of the world’s biggest gold producers.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has massive mineral resources but most of its people live in poverty.
The battle to control mines has been a major factor in the conflict which has raged in eastern DR Congo for at least 16 years.
Randgold, listed on the London Stock Exchange, says it will begin developing the mine from the middle of 2011. The Kibali gold project is located in a remote corner of DR Congo, close to the Ugandan border.
To develop it, Randgold has had to build a 180km (112-mile) road eastwards to Uganda.
The region is near an area where Ugandan rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has operated, but the company says the local police and security forces have ensured the project can go ahead
Randgold chief executive Mark Bristow said the site will be secure.
“We have been operating here for nine months now. This is not connected with the eastern part of the Congo.“This area has not had a history of conflict. We don’t arm people...
“The state provides security. There is the police and the army, which is working with the Ugandans against the LRA in an area north of here.â€
Randgold says it has won community support, despite the fact that 15,000 people will have to be moved, as well as a Catholic church and a cemetery.
Bristow said the villagers lived in “very poor, poor conditions†and would be moved to a new village constructed by the company.
Foreign “gold washers†at the site had also been moved away from the company’s permit area as they were illegal, he said.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is potentially one of the richest mining countries in Africa, based on its vast resources of copper, cobalt and diamonds.
However, as with many African countries, the DRC is plagued by civil war, an uncertain political situation, corruption and smuggling. This has resulted in a shortage of development capital that has stifled the development of the country’s industries.
Most mining activities are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the country, where the famous Copperbelt extends in to the DRC from Zambia near Lubumbashi.
In 2007, Lundin Mining acquired the Canadian based company Tenke Mining, which included a 24.75% holding in the Tenke Fungurume project, one of the largest and highest grade, undeveloped copper-cobalt mineral concessions in the world.
BBC
Partners in the project are Freeport McMoRan Gold and Copper Company which holds 57.75% and is also the operator of the project and the Congolese state mining company, Gécamines, which holds the balance of 17.5%. The Tenke Fungurume concessions encompass over 1,500 square kilometers and are located approximately 110 miles northwest of Lubumbashi in Katanga Province. The project entails an open pit mining operation and a 40-year mine plan has been developed based on current proven/probable reserves producing initially 115,000 tonnes per annum of London Grade A quality copper cathode and 8,000 tonnes per annum of cobalt in a combination of cobalt metal or intermediate cobalt hydroxide. First Quantum Minerals owns 65% of the Kolwezi copper-cobalt tailings project. The plant was expected to begin production, at 35,000 tonnes per year copper and 7,000 tonnes per year of cobalt hydroxide, in early 2010. The mine life is expected to be 22 years at an annual production rate of 70,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year.
Randgold Resources and AngloGold Ashanti have recently acquired 70% of Moto Goldmines Ltd, and have since agreed to buy an additional 20% of the Kibali project. Kibali has an indicated mineral resource of 13.93 Moz. Randgold expects start-up at this project in 2013.
BBC
MINING firm Randgold Resources says it is to begin mining Africa’s largest undeveloped gold deposit - in eastern DR Congo. The mine will require the re-location of 15,000 people, but Randgold says the project has the support of the government and the local community.
The mine is thought to have a reserve of about 320 tonnes of gold, it says.
It is as big as any of the current mines in South Africa, one of the world’s biggest gold producers.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has massive mineral resources but most of its people live in poverty.
The battle to control mines has been a major factor in the conflict which has raged in eastern DR Congo for at least 16 years.
Randgold, listed on the London Stock Exchange, says it will begin developing the mine from the middle of 2011. The Kibali gold project is located in a remote corner of DR Congo, close to the Ugandan border.
To develop it, Randgold has had to build a 180km (112-mile) road eastwards to Uganda.
The region is near an area where Ugandan rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has operated, but the company says the local police and security forces have ensured the project can go ahead
Randgold chief executive Mark Bristow said the site will be secure.
“We have been operating here for nine months now. This is not connected with the eastern part of the Congo.“This area has not had a history of conflict. We don’t arm people...
“The state provides security. There is the police and the army, which is working with the Ugandans against the LRA in an area north of here.â€
Randgold says it has won community support, despite the fact that 15,000 people will have to be moved, as well as a Catholic church and a cemetery.
Bristow said the villagers lived in “very poor, poor conditions†and would be moved to a new village constructed by the company.
Foreign “gold washers†at the site had also been moved away from the company’s permit area as they were illegal, he said.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is potentially one of the richest mining countries in Africa, based on its vast resources of copper, cobalt and diamonds.
However, as with many African countries, the DRC is plagued by civil war, an uncertain political situation, corruption and smuggling. This has resulted in a shortage of development capital that has stifled the development of the country’s industries.
Most mining activities are concentrated in the southern and eastern parts of the country, where the famous Copperbelt extends in to the DRC from Zambia near Lubumbashi.
In 2007, Lundin Mining acquired the Canadian based company Tenke Mining, which included a 24.75% holding in the Tenke Fungurume project, one of the largest and highest grade, undeveloped copper-cobalt mineral concessions in the world.
BBC
Partners in the project are Freeport McMoRan Gold and Copper Company which holds 57.75% and is also the operator of the project and the Congolese state mining company, Gécamines, which holds the balance of 17.5%. The Tenke Fungurume concessions encompass over 1,500 square kilometers and are located approximately 110 miles northwest of Lubumbashi in Katanga Province. The project entails an open pit mining operation and a 40-year mine plan has been developed based on current proven/probable reserves producing initially 115,000 tonnes per annum of London Grade A quality copper cathode and 8,000 tonnes per annum of cobalt in a combination of cobalt metal or intermediate cobalt hydroxide. First Quantum Minerals owns 65% of the Kolwezi copper-cobalt tailings project. The plant was expected to begin production, at 35,000 tonnes per year copper and 7,000 tonnes per year of cobalt hydroxide, in early 2010. The mine life is expected to be 22 years at an annual production rate of 70,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year.
Randgold Resources and AngloGold Ashanti have recently acquired 70% of Moto Goldmines Ltd, and have since agreed to buy an additional 20% of the Kibali project. Kibali has an indicated mineral resource of 13.93 Moz. Randgold expects start-up at this project in 2013.
BBC