The Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) state miner Gecamines has formally proposed to acquire a portion of Eurasian Resources Group's (ERG) copper and cobalt assets in the country to recoup the value of partner-owned projects and amass reserves of green transition-critical metals.
Reuters quoted the chairperson of the DRC mining company, Robert Lukama, as saying that they have the financial means to acquire three of the Kazakh miner's assets in the country.
He could not mention the specific mines or ventures that Gecamines intends to acquire.
"We have a firm proposal, and we can confirm our proposal," Lukama said.
"We showed our seriousness, and we showed that we have the means to buy the assets."
The Kazakhstan government owns 40% of ERG, a Luxembourg-based company whose Congo holdings consist of the Frontier mine, Comide, Metalkol, and Boss Mining, as well as some development and near-production assets.
The ERG and DRC authorities have been engaged in negotiations to have the suspension of Boss Mining operations lifted.
Last June, the government suspended ERG's operations because the organisation had caused environmental pollution.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished