TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Africa-focused project developer Ivanhoe Mines will send a high-level delegation to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this weekend to address any “misunderstandings” that might exist between itself and the government following Ivanhoe’s announcement on Monday to sell nearly half of the Kamoa copper project to a Chinese company.
Bloomberg reported that the DRC government, which owned a minority stake in the project billed as the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposit, was reportedly sidestepped in discussions between shareholders about the $412-million deal that would see Zijin Group buy a 49.5% stake in Ivanhoe subsidiary Kamoa Holding, which held a 95% stake in the project.
However, on an analyst conference call on Thursday, Ivanhoe CEO Lars-Eric Johansson said while the DRC held a 5% interest in the Kamoa project since 2012, when the exploration permit was drafted, senior government representatives were present at discussions before the Zijin agreement was finalised.
“We are not aware of any Congolese approvals that we need to obtain,” he said, adding that the deal was expected to close at the end of July, subject to it receiving approval from the People's Republic of China government.
Johansson said additional discussions were under way to address any “misunderstanding” and Ivanhoe had “for some time now” offered to sell a 15% stake to the DRC on commercial terms.
“I will lead a delegation of senior Ivanhoe representatives this weekend to engage the DRC government, including the minister of minerals.
“We are confident that all issues will be resolved before the Zijin deal closes,” Johansson said.
He added that the company did not expect major problems with the Congolese government, saying the administration was pleased to see significant foreign capital coming in.
Ivanhoe expected to complete a feasibility study on the project at the end of next year.