A royalties agreement has been reached between the Democratic Republic of Congo's state miner Gecamines and China's CMOC, allowing for the restart of minerals exports from the world's second-largest cobalt mine.
“I have some elements of this agreement, but I prefer to let the entities themselves confirm and this will be done in the next few days," finance minister Nicolas Kazadi was quoted by Reuters as saying.
CMOC confirmed that a "consensus" was reached on April 18 on the issue of Tenke Fungurume Mining (TFM) royalties.
TFM suspended copper and cobalt exports last July following an escalation in a dispute between its shareholders Gecamines and CMOC.
A Congolese court-appointed temporary administrator ordered majority owner CMOC to stop marketing and exporting its products.
An unnamed adviser to DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said that the negotiations should bring between $2 billion and $3 billion to the country.
He said Tshisekedi would travel to China in the coming weeks "to seal the renewal of Chinese contracts".
A senior Gecamines executive claimed last year that revenue loss for DRC was more than $7 billion since the start of the mining project.
CMOC rejected the claim and threatened legal action against the country.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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