LATE on Monday, Congo’s finance minister announced that an agreement on royalties between Congo’s state miner and China’s CMOC has been reached. This will allow the resumption of minerals exports from Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM), the world’s second largest cobalt mine, after being suspended in July due to a dispute between shareholders Gecamines and CMOC.
The Congo authorities have not provided any details regarding the agreement. However, an anonymous adviser to Congo’s President, Felix Tshisekedi, stated that negotiations should bring ‘around $2 to 3bn’ to the country. The adviser also mentioned that Tshisekedi is expected to travel to China in the coming weeks ‘to seal the renewal of Chinese contracts.’
Last year, a senior Gecamines official claimed that the revenue loss for Congo due to the previous terms of the contracts was estimated at ‘more than $7bn’ since the start of the mining project. CMOC denied this allegation and threatened legal action against the country.