Gecamines subsidiary gets $75 million to build new unit

Gecamines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo's state mining firm, announced on Tuesday that its subsidiary has acquired $75 million in finance to establish a new hydro-metallurgical facility to create minerals used in semiconductor fabrication.
STL, a company focused on commercialising a slag heap in Lubumbashi, the capital city of Katanga's mining region in southern Congo, claimed the extra money will also extend the life of its existing facilities by 30 years.
The company said in a statement that the new unit, which is expected to be operational in August of this year, will produce copper cathodes, cobalt hydroxide, a germanium precipitate, silver concentrate, and zinc oxides.
“For the first time, the processing of alloys will be carried out on the African continent ... by an African player, to extract the added value,” it said.
“STL will also become a major player in the production of germanium worldwide, an essential metal to produce semiconductors.”
STL stated that a portion of the new finance package came from its own money, while a loan was granted by Congo-based Rawbank SA.
Rawbank's general manager, Mustafa Rawji, stated that the enterprise would add value to the minerals that the DRC exports to global markets while providing “perfect traceability”.
Furthermore, Trafigura, a multinational commodities trader, reaffirmed an existing $20 million prepayment deal in exchange for the continuation of an exclusive commercial contract for the purchase of zinc oxides, according to STL.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished