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(Ecofin Agency) – Last year, Gécamines, the DRC’s public mining company, announced a deal to sell its share of the copper produced at the Tenke Fungurume mine operated by China’s CMOC. In 2023, this 20% share amounted to 280,297 tonnes.
Gécamines, the state-owned mining company in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), is currently negotiating with several firms to sell part of the output from the Tenke Fungurume mine. This move is part of Gécamines’ new strategy to directly sell a portion of the production from mines in which it holds minority stakes.
According to details relayed by Bloomberg, Gécamines is negotiating the sale of 90,000 tonnes of copper with Glencore, Trafigura Group, and Mercuria Energy Group. In addition to Tenke Fungurume, the company is also looking to sign copper and cobalt sales contracts for part of the production from Glencore’s local subsidiary and Sicomines’ assets.
With this strategy, Gécamines seeks greater mining revenues for the State. The strategy was announced last year, after Gécamines negotiated with CMOC, Tenke Fungurume’s owner, the right to sell the production volume proportional to its 20% stake in the mine.
Copper accounts for around 70% of the DRC’s export earnings, and the country is Africa’s top producer and the world’s second-largest. However, the Congolese people do not benefit from the activity; a situation which the State is determined to change.
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