Congo’s state-owned miner pushes for re-nationalization of mines; global players in resource-rich nation include Glencore and Randgold
Congo’s state-owned mining firm is pushing to renationalize the Central African nation’s massive natural resources, in a move that could roil some of the world’s largest mining companies and have implications for industries ranging from technology to auto production.A later Reuters headline:
Congo’s state-owned mining firm, Gécamines SA, is pushing to renationalize the Central African nation’s rich natural resources, in a move that could roil some of the world’s largest mining companies and have implications for industries ranging from technology to auto production.
Gécamines Chairman Albert Yuma Mulimbi told The Wall Street Journal that Congo—Africa’s biggest copper and cobalt producer, but also one of the world’s poorest countries, with an annual budget of roughly $5 billion—hadn’t benefited enough from its mining production. He alleged that companies had manipulated costs and production figures, resulting in lower dividends and royalty payments to the Congolese government.
He said audits being conducted of several foreign firms operating in the country have found possible criminal activity. He declined to name specific companies or details, but said he would reveal more in March when the audits would be complete.
Major Western companies operating in Congo include Glencore PLC, Randgold Resources and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. Executives from these companies either declined to comment or weren’t immediately available to do so.
Mr. Yuma’s comments—made Tuesday at a mining conference in Cape Town, South Africa—ratchet up pressure on the miners that have bet big on Congo’s mineral wealth. They have recently been on the defensive amid a run-up in prices for some of the country’s most valuable commodities, which include copper, cobalt, diamonds and gold.
“They’ve been stealing money from Gécamines for many years,” Mr. Yuma said.
He was flanked as he spoke by members of both houses of Congo’s parliament, some of whom wrote the country’s controversial new mining code. That new legislation—yet to be signed by President Joseph Kabila —will classify metals such as cobalt and tantalum, a rare blue-gray metal used in smartphones, as “strategic substances,” allowing government to tax them at higher rates....MORE
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