 | |
| TSX: ARL (until 2016) [1] | |
| Industry | Mining |
| Fate | Acquired by Camrose Resources Limited |
| Headquarters | Democratic Republic of the Congo, , |
Key people | Chris Theodoropoulos, Chairman |
| Website | www |
Africo Resources was a Canadian mining company whose main property is the copper and cobalt Kalukundi Mine in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A majority of the company was acquired by Camrose Resources Limited in 2016. [2]
Africo was founded in 2006 as a spin-off from Rubicon Minerals, and was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Apart from the main Kalukundi project, the company has an agreement to purchase the highly speculative Mashitu adjoining property. It also has rights to three large-scale licenses to explore for gold, nickel and copper in Zambia's Mporokoso sedimentary basin. [3]
In April 2007, Africo Resources raised C$130-million to fund development of the Kalukundi property. [4] In November 2007 the International Finance Corporation agreed to provide a loan of about $40-million, subject to risk assessment. [5] As of September 2008 the company had a market capitalization of C$120 million. [3] In February 2009 Africo reached an agreement with the DRC government on amendments to the Kalakundi mining contract. It agreed to pay Gecamines an additional $1.6 million annually for four years on top of the existing 2.5% royalty on gross sales payable to Gecamines. Shares prices shot up after the announcement. [6] In November 2011 market capitalization had sunk to C$54.2 million. [7]
The Kalukundi property is owned by Swanmines, which is jointly owned by Africo Resources (75%) and the state-owned Kalumines (25%). In 2007 there was an ownership dispute when a DRC company named Akam Mining claimed it had bought control of Swanmines, and this claim was upheld in a superior court in Lubumbashi. [8] In September 2007 Africo said "third parties" were trying to steal its Kalukundi asset through the "systematic misuse of the judicial system". [9] Later that month the DRC justice minister Georges Minsay Booka directed Gécamines to take note that Akam Mining had no stake in the property. [8] In October Africo said it had received a letter from Moïse Katumbi Chapwe, the Governor of Katanga, confirming that Akam did not own shares in the subsidiary company. [10]
A 2006 feasibility study estimated the Kalukundi Mine could produce 800,000 tonnes of ore per year, giving an estimated annual yield of 16,400 tonnes of copper and 3,800 tonnes of cobalt. Ore would be extracted by a contractor using conventional open pit selective exploitation, with multiple pits and multiple cut-back to ensure a steady supply of ore. A revised study was commissioned in June 2011 to investigate a 50% higher rate of ore production, and to take into account the much higher metal prices. [11]
In October 2007, Africo's Swanmines subsidiary signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the DRC Ministry for Social Affairs. The company pledged to align social development programs the local areas of need the Ministry identified. This was the first agreement of this kind to be signed by any mining company in Katanga province. [12] In December 2008 Africo was given an award for its outstanding and innovative community service in the Katanga Copperbelt, including Africo's Wheelchairs for Kids program. [13]
La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) is a Congolese commodity trading and mining company headquartered in Lubumbashi, in the Katanga region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a state-controlled corporation founded in 1966 and a successor to the Union Minière du Haut-Katanga. Gecamines is engaged in the exploration, research, exploitation and production of mineral deposits including copper and cobalt.
Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC (ENRC) was a public, Kazakhstan/Central African-focused, multinational leading diversified natural resources company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It had activities in integrated mining, processing, energy, logistics and marketing.
Katanga Mining Ltd was a mining company operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with its headquarters in Canada. Katanga Mining operated a major mine complex in the Congo's Katanga Province, producing refined copper and cobalt. It claimed to have the "potential of becoming Africa's largest copper producer and the world's largest cobalt producer."
Kinsevere is an open pit mine and Heavy Media Separation plant with an electric arc furnace formerly operated by Anvil Mining, and now operated by Minerals and Metals Group. It is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.
Copper mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo mainly takes place in the Copper Belt of the southern Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Kolwezi tailings project also known as the Roan Tailings Reclamation is a project in the Kolwezi mining area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to recover copper from the tailings, or processed ore, from mining in the region since the 1950s. The project was developed by the Canadian mining companies Adastra Minerals and then First Quantum Minerals between 2004 and 2009, when the DRC government revoked First Quantum's license. The project is currently majority owned by the Eurasian Resources Group.
Mutoshi Mine is a copper mine in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2011 it was 70% owned by Anvil Mining and 30% by the state-owned Gécamines. The mine was placed on care and maintenance in late 2008.
The Ruashi Mine is an open-pit copper and cobalt mine operated by Metorex that is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Lubumbashi in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project includes a plant to concentrate the ore from the Ruashi and Etoile mines, and a modern solvent extraction electrowinning (SX-EW) processing plant. As of 2008, annual capacity was estimated to be 10,000 tonnes of copper and 1,000 tonnes of Cobalt.
The Etoile Mine is an open-pit copper mine on the outskirts of Lubumbashi in Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Chemaf owns the license. Chemaf is 95% owned by Shalina Resources and 5% by the DRC government.
The Kamoto Mine is an underground copper and cobalt mine to the west of Musonoi in the former Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2022, the site is the largest active cobalt mine in the world. The mine includes the Luilu metallurgical plant, which accepts ore from KOV mine and Mashamba East mine. The plant has polluted the Luilu River, and tailings also pollute the region with wind-blown dust. The Kolwezi Tailings Project is an attempt to recover additional metal from these tailings.
Luishia mine was an open pit copper and cobalt mine in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. A concession to the south of the mine has recently been opened to exploitation.
The Luiswishi mine is an open cut copper and cobalt mine in Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Dikuluwe Mine is a copper and cobalt mine near to Kolwezi in Lualaba Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Dikuluwe is the westernmost of the Dima Pit group, with Mashamba West and Mashamba East. The quarry was opened in 1975 and was planned to be connected to the nearby Mashamba West pit. The combined Dikuluwe and Mashamba West deposits are now run by La Sino-Congolaise des Mines SA (Sicomines), a joint venture majority owned by a Chinese consortium, with Gécamines holding a minority stake.
Kalukundi Mine is a copper and cobalt mine being developed in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by Africo Resources, a Canadian company. In September 2008 the company estimated the value of the resource as $1.47 billion.
Dan Gertler is an Israeli billionaire businessman in natural resources and the founder and president of the DGI group of companies. He has diamond and copper mining interests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and has invested in iron ore, gold, cobalt, oil, agriculture, and banking. He may also hold citizenship of that country. As of 2022 his fortune was estimated at $1.2 billion by Forbes.
Nikanor plc was a publicly quoted holding company for Global Enterprises Corporate (GEC) with assets in the rich Copperbelt region in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Kananga Mine is an open pit copper mine near Kolwezi in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is currently officially inactive.
Georges Minsay Booka is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was Minister of Justice in the first and second cabinets of the Gizenga government, from February to November 2007.
Mukondo Mine is a copper and cobalt mine in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. As of 2011 it was operated by the Central African Mining and Exploration Company. It may be the richest cobalt reserve in the world.
Camrose Resources Limited (Camrose) was a company owned by Dan Gertler, an Israeli businessman, the founder and President of the DGI Group of Companies. Camrose's other assets included a "64% stake in Canada listed Africo Resources which held a 75% interest in the Kalukundi Mine's exploitation licence as well as a 56% indirect interest in Comide Sprl, which held the exploitation licence for Mashitu, Pangalume and Kii tenements."