Chinese mining company CMOC, was recently ordered by a temporary administrator appointed by a Congolese Court to suspend all marketing of, and export of, any products produced by the world’s second largest cobalt mine.
CMOC however has not received any notification of this, and production was continuing as normal and so were exports, according to CMOC spokesman Vincent Zhou. CMOC maintains the mine is still fully under its control, despite the court order from earlier this year appointing the temporary administrator. There had been a stay on the order, but it was lifted by Congo’s Justice Minister last month.
This most recent dispute, marks yet another escalation in the struggle for control of the mine, Tenke Fungurume Mine (TFM). CMOC, which owns 80% of the mine, and state mining company Gecamines, which holds the remaining 20%, have had a long-running dispute over control over the mine and its proceeds.
Congo’s government has accused CMOC of understating the mine’s reserve levels, which has allowed it to underpay the amount of royalties it pays to Gecamines. CMOC denies this.
In a June 29th letter to CMOC’s board, the provisional administrator stated that CMOC had not met the terms for the marketing of TFM’s productive output. The letter also demanded all records regarding TFM’s marketing and exports for the year within 24 hours.
CMOC was also barred from all marketing and export from TFM until the matter was deemed resolved.
In a subsequent July 1st letter, issued after CMOC failed to respond to the first letter, the temporary administrator ordered a suspension of all of TFM’s exports by Congo’s customs authority.
In 2021, TFM had produces 209,120 tons of copper, and 18,501 tons of cobalt.
China’s ambassador to Congo, in an interview, has said, China is following the dispute, and seeking to make, “sure the rights of Chinese companies are respected.”
Ambassador Zhu Jing said, “We must encourage the two companies to maintain a dialogue… without using the apparatus of the state or resorting to brutal methods.”
