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Foreign involvement

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In 2011, at least twenty-five international mining companies were active in the D.R. Congo according to Datamonitor 360. Canadian-domiciled mining companies had the highest presence, with nine in total: African Metals Corporation, Banro Resources Corporation, BRC DiamondCore, El Niño Ventures Inc., First Quantum Minerals, ICS Copper Systems Ltd., Lundin Mining Corp., as well as Anvil Mining Ltd., misidentified as Australian, and Katanga Mining Ltd, misidentified as British. By comparison, six firms were incorporated in Australia (Austral Africa Resources Ltd., BHP Billiton Group, Green Machine Development Corporation, Lindian Resources Ltd., Mawson West Ltd., Tiger Resources Ltd.), three in South Africa (African Rainbow Minerals, AngloGold Ashanti, Chrometco Ltd.), two in the United Kingdom (Mwana Africa PLC, Randgold Resources Ltd.), two from the United States (Century Aluminum Co., Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.), and one each from China (CIC Mining Resources Ltd., with Japanese Eco Energy Group's African subsidiary, Eco Project Company Ltd.), Morocco (Managem SA), and Switzerland (Xstrata plc).[1]

In 2008 and 2009, the Congolese operations of larger international companies, AngloGold Ashanti,[2] BHP Billiton,[3] and Xstrata[4] were all in the exploration and development phase, while Canada had four companies, Anvil Mining,[5] First Quantum Minerals,[6] Katanga Mining,[7] and Lundin Mining[8] involved in large-scale commercial extraction for several years or more.

Canada

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According to the Congolese government, Canadian companies in 2009 held US$4.5 billion in mining-related investments in the DR Congo.[9] The DRC ranked either first or second-largest among African countries for Canadian mining at the end of the 2000s.[10] The Government of Canada reported 28 Canadian mining and exploration companies operating in the D.R. Congo between 2001 and 2009, with four carrying out commercial-scale extraction; collectively, these companies' assets in the DRC ranged between Cdn.$161 mill. in 2003 and $5.2 bill. in 2008.[10] The Government of Canada's mining ministry, Natural Resources Canada estimated that in 2009, Canadian-owned mining assets in the D.R. Congo were valued at Cdn.$3.3 billion, ten times more than in 2001, making them the second-highest African share after Madagascar, and representing a sixth of total Canadian mining assets in Africa.[10] Natural Resources Canada valued Canadian mining assets in the DRC at Cdn.$2.6 bn. in 2011.[11]

The majority of Canadian-domiciled mining companies currently or previously active in the DR Congo have been involved in either exploration and development or large-scale mining of the Congo's copper and cobalt resources.[12] Using World Bank estimates, Garrett and Lintzer[13] reported that three Canadian companies First Quantum Minerals, Lundin Mining (in partnership with the US firm Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold) and Katanga Mining will have been responsible for more than two-thirds of total Congolese copper output from 2008 to 2013, and for more than two-thirds of total Congolese cobalt output from 2008 to 2014. These companies, along with Canadian-incorporated Anvil Mining, have undertaken industrial copper and cobalt extraction during 2000-2010.[12] Another eight junior Canadian mining companies including Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum Ltd. and Rubicon Minerals Corporation, as of early 2011, reporting holdings of copper and cobalt concessions in Katanga province.[12] Nine Canadian junior mining companies, including Kinross Gold Corp., previously held copper and/or cobalt concessions, but have since abandoned them, or had them acquired by other Canadian or South African firms.[12]

Banro Resources Corporation has since 1996 owned gold concessions in South Kivu and Maniema provinces of the DRC,[14] and began gold production in 2011. Six other Canadian companies previously owned Congolese gold properties, including Barrick Gold (1996–1998),[15][16] and Moto Goldmines (2005–2009).[17] In the diamonds sector, Montreal-based Emaxon Financial International Inc. is currently active,[18][19] while seven other Canadian junior companies reported previous ownership of properties in the DRC during 2001-2009, including Canaf Group Inc. and BRC DiamondCore.[20] Montreal-based Shamika Resources is exploring for tantalum, niobium, tin and tungsten in the Eastern DRC and Loncor Resources is exploring for gold, platinum, tantalum and other metals.[20] Two Canadian-registered companies own petroleum concessions in the DRC: Heritage Oil plc, whose founder and Chief Executive Officer is Tony Buckingham, and EnerGulf Resources Inc..[21]

Since 2009, two Canadian companies, First Quantum Minerals[6][22] and Heritage Oil plc,[23] have had their mining permits revoked by the DRC government. First Quantum closed all its Congolese operations during 2010, and initiated, in concert with other stakeholders, international arbitration proceedings against the Congolese government.[24] The Congolese revocation was linked to alleged obstruction attempts made by the Government of Canada[25] in the negotiation of International Monetary Fund and World Bank debt relief to the DRC in 2010.[26][27] First Quantum, which was active in the D.R. Congo since 1997,[28] reported overall corporate social responsibility contributions amounting to 3.0% of the Congolese gross national income in 2009,[29] and was reported to be the DRC's largest taxpayer that year, accounting for between one-eighth and one-quarter of total collected revenue.[13] In 2012, it was announced that First Quantum's legal dispute ended in an out of court settlement.[30]

The first DR Congo project funded by the World Bank Group's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), was awarded in 2005 to Canada and Ireland as co-investors, on behalf of the Dikulushi Mine held by Anvil Mining Ltd. in Katanga Province.[31] Four of the nine D.R. Congo projects sponsored or proposed for sponsorship by the World Bank's International Finance Corporation up to early 2011 were for Canadian-owned companies active in the DRC: to Kolwezi/Kingamyambo Musonoi Tailings SARL owned by Adastra Minerals Inc. ($50.0m., invested in 2006),[32] Africo Resources Ltd. (acquisition of Cdn.$8m. in Africo shares, invested in 2007),[33] and Kingamyambo Musonoi Tailings SARL as acquired by First Quantum, proposed in 2009 at a value of US$4.5 m. in equity funding.[34][35]

The killing by Congolese military of between seventy and one hundred civilians in the town of Kilwa, nearby Anvil Mining's Dikulushi mine in 2004 has resulted in legal proceedings against Anvil Mining in the DR Congo and Canada, and investigations by the Australian Federal Police and by the World Bank's Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman.[36]

In 2011, Canada's Fraser Institute annual survey of mining executives reported the DRC's ranking of its mining exploration investment favourability fell from eighth-poorest in 2006 down to second-poorest in 2010, among 45 African, Asian and Latin American countries and 24 jurisdictions in Canada, Australia and the United States, and this was attributed to "the uncertainty created by the nationalization and revision of contracts by the Kabila government".[37]

  1. ^ Datamonitor Group . Datamonitor 360, web database, London. Entry point: companies. Keywords: congo. Industry: Metals and Mining (34). http://www.datamonitor360.com/ (accessed February 7, 2011).
  2. ^ AngloGold Ashanti. 2008. Our operations DRC 2008, http://www.anglogold.co.za/NR/rdonlyres/0F71E463-1ABA-4A34-AF45-565E1DBD996A/0/drc.pdf (accessed February 5, 2011).
  3. ^ BHP Billiton. Annual Report 2008, http://www.bhpbilliton.com/annualreports2008/2008-business-review-and-annual-report/annual-report/information-on-the-company/minerals-exploration/index.html (accessed February 5, 2011)
  4. ^ Xstrata plc. Annual Report 2009, http://www.xstrata.com/annualreport/2009/strategy/chiefexecutivesreport/deliveringfuturegrowth.html (accessed February 5, 2011).
  5. ^ Anvil Mining Ltd. Anvil Divests its Interest in the Dikulushi Tenements in the DRC and Updates Construction Progress at Kinsevere Stage II, News Release, February 26, 2010, http://www.anvilmining.com/download.cfm?DownloadFile=B4F58533-C29E-198E-8153C59909147319 (accessed January 17, 2011).
  6. ^ a b "Annual Report 2009, p.11" (PDF). First Quantum Minerals, Ltd. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  7. ^ "Our Operations-Project overview". Katanga Mining. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
  8. ^ "2009 Annual Filings, p. 20" (PDF accessdate=January 17, 2011). Lundin Mining. {{cite web}}: Missing pipe in: |format= (help)
  9. ^ République Démocratique du Congo. Cabinet du Chef de l'Etat. 2009. "Le Premier ministre informé des activités des sociétés canadiennes en RDC", 10 juin 2009, http://www.cinqchantiers-rdc.com/article.php3?id_article=1800 (accessed March 28, 2011).
  10. ^ a b c Miron, Michel. 2010. "Africa: Cumulative Canadian Mining Assets" (calculated at acquisition, construction or fabricating costs, and includes capitalized exploration and development costs, non-controling interests, and excludes liquid assets, cumulative depreciation, and write-off), Minerals and Metals Sector, Natural Resources Canada, internal document.
  11. ^ Government of Canada. "Canada - Democratic Republic of Congo Relations". The Embassy of Canada, Kinshasa 1, Democratic Republic of Congo. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
  12. ^ a b c d Canadian mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo#Copper and cobalt
  13. ^ a b Garrett, Nicholas; Lintzer, Marie (2010). "Can Katanga's mining sector drive growth and development in the DRC?", Journal of Eastern African Studies, 4(3), 400-424. doi:10.1080/17531055.2010.517408
  14. ^ Critchley, Barry. 1996. "Banro goes into Africa with $18M", The Financial Post, 5 June 1996, p. 5.
  15. ^ Anonymous. 1996. "American Barrick Steps In", Africa Energy & Mining , N. 175, February 14, 1996.
  16. ^ Anonymous. 1998. "Barrick Steps Back", Africa Energy & Mining, N. 228, May 13, 1998.
  17. ^ Canadian mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo#Gold
  18. ^ Anonymous. 2003. "Emaxon to finance expansion of MIBA's diamond mines", October 27, 2003, PR Newswire Europe
  19. ^ Dougherty, Carter. 2003. "Sifting Through a Dark Business; Does Congo's diamond trade defy change? Kimberley reforms may not be working fully", Newsweek International, December 8, 2003.
  20. ^ a b Canadian mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo#Diamonds Cite error: The named reference "wikicanmindrcta" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  21. ^ Canadian mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo#Petroleum
  22. ^ "Bwana - Lonshi Fact Sheet New Design - First Quantum" (PDF). First Quantum Minerals. Retrieved accessed January 17, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  23. ^ Heritage Oil PLC. Annual Report & Accounts 2009, p. 24, http://www.sedar.com/DisplayProfile.do?lang=EN&issuerType=03&issuerNo=00026779 (accessed January 20, 2011).
  24. ^ First Quantum Minerals Ltd. 2011. 2011 Annual Report, p. 7, 26-27, 33, http://sedar.com/DisplayProfile.do?lang=EN&issuerType=03&issuerNo=00006237 (accessed April 26, 2011).
  25. ^ Anonymous. 2010. "Canada cool to Congo", The Province. Vancouver, B.C., July 2, 2010. pg. A.35.
  26. ^ Bouw, Brenda. 2010. "Congo wins debt relief despite Canadian concerns", The Globe and Mail, July 2, 2010, pg. A.13.
  27. ^ Anonymous. 2010. "Canada requests delay in Congo debt relief", Wed Jun 30, 2010, 5:48am GMT, http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE65T01U20100630?sp=true (accessed April 26, 2011).
  28. ^ First Quantum Minerals Ltd. 1998. 1997 Annual Report, p. 3, 17 of 33, http://sedar.com/DisplayProfile.do?lang=EN&issuerType=03&issuerNo=00006237 (accessed April 26, 2011).
  29. ^ First Quantum Minerals. 2010. Corporate Sustainability Report, p. 12 http://www.first-quantum.com/i/pdf/FQM_Corporate_Sustainability_Report.pdf (accessed January 31, 2011).
  30. ^ McClearn, Matthew (1/24). "Quantum finds solace. How the Canadian mining company got its money back". Canadian Business. 85 (1/2). {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  31. ^ Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. Home > Projects > Advanced Search > Anvil Mining Congo, SARL, http://www.miga.org/projects/index_sv.cfm?pid=634 (accessed April 8, 2011).
  32. ^ International Finance Corporation. Summary of Project Information (SPI), Kingamyambo Musonoi Tailings SARL, http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/projects/88701E7FE15991AD852576BA000E2C86 (accessed April 8, 2011).
  33. ^ International Finance Corporation. Africo Resources Limited, Environmental & Social Review Summary, http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/0/75A0EBB9C9548C68852576C10080CD35 (accessed April 8, 2011).
  34. ^ International Finance Corporation. Kingamyambo Musonoi Tailings SARL, Summary of Proposed Investment, http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/f451ebbe34a9a8ca85256a550073ff10/49f16fb4c528c963852576ba000e2d57?OpenDocument (accessed April 8, 2011).
  35. ^ International Finance Corporation. "Search IFC Projects", Type of project: Investment Projects, Project country: "Congo, Democratic Republic of", http://www.ifc.org/projects (accessed April 8, 2011).
  36. ^ Canadian_mining_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo#Anvil_Mining_and_Kilwa_incident
  37. ^ McMahon, Fred; Cervantes, Miguel. 2011. Survey of Mining Companies 2010/2011, Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, p. 7, 11-12, http://www.fraserinstitute.org/research-news/display.aspx?id=17302 (accessed April 26, 2011).