The Democratic Republic of Congo's State miner, Gecamines, has decided not to approve the sale of cobalt miner Chemaf and its Congolese assets to Norin Mining, a Chinese miner.
Reuters quoted Gecamines as saying that it had the right of approval and its board had voted to reject the deal.
Gecamines leases Congolese assets to Chemaf, which had last week said it had agreed a sale to a unit of Chinese State-backed China North Industries Corp (Norinco) to settle debts largely funded by Chemaf's long-time partner, commodities trader Trafigura.
Meanwhile, Chemaf said in a statement that it had not yet received any correspondence from Gecamines.
Chemaf SA had formally notified Gecamines in writing that its ultimate parent company, Chemaf Group, intended to sell its shares in Chemaf Resources.
The copper and cobalt miner decided to put itself up for sale last year due to a cash crunch.
This financial situation was hindering the expansion of its Etoile and Mutoshi projects in the DRC, especially with the slump in cobalt prices.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
