https://miningnewsmagazine.org/gros...vision-miniere-quel-investisseur-lapplique-1/
BIG PLAN: President Tshisekedi declined his mining vision. Which investor applies it? (1)
July 3, 2023 abel
In his speech, which was eagerly awaited by all participants in
Investing in Mining Indaba 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa on February 07, 2023, President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi set the country's ambitions under his leadership for the natural resources sector and mainly that of mines in this period of energy transition and global warming forcing the whole world to secure the supply of critical
Regarding the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fatshi had said this that had more retained the editorial staff of
Mining News Magazine:
"It is not necessary to recall here that my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, is known for its mining potential representing 1,100 different mineral substances. All its provinces can claim to hold mineral wealth. And in this period of climate change, the Democratic Republic of Congo is proving to be a solution state through its strategic minerals such as cobalt, coltan, germanium and lithium, to guarantee a better ecological and energy transition.
It is therefore a destination of choice that offers countless opportunities. Financiers, mining operators, equipment manufacturers, subcontractors, recyclers, everyone can find their share!
However, the Democratic Republic of Congo, my country, is ready to put in place mutually beneficial agreements with all partners who need our resources.
History attests that my country has always been present at all the major events of the industrial revolutions, but unfortunately without its population taking any profit from it. Once again, we are meeting today for a major meeting, to strengthen resilience to climate change on a global scale. And it is increasingly obvious that climate security, energy security, and food security go hand in hand.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is still ready to play its partition. But this time, we want the Congolese people to fully benefit from it. With its potential in strategic minerals such as cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel and graphite, my country can contribute to the resolution of climate issues and thus play a major role in this energy transition. Cobalt, an essential ore for batteries and green technologies, finds 60% of its world production in the DRC, which would hold 50% of the world's reserves.
In addition, my country has significant reserves of lithium, another essential element of electric vehicle batteries.
My address at this conference revolves around the reforms undertaken by my country to guarantee not only a good business climate, but also to ensure a fair remuneration of income from mining resources to the Congolese people, with a view to sustainable development.
As soon as I joined the supreme judiciary, I worked to restore the image of my country to make it more attractive to investments, transforming it into a space cleaned up by improving the business climate. I instructed the government to take initiatives to be part of a dynamic that improves the business climate while ensuring that the implementation of this business-friendly framework really contribute to the well-being of our populations.
As an indication, a Special Economic Zone has been set up in Manono in the province of Tanganyika for the processing of Lithium for the manufacture of electronic batteries at competitive costs. In addition, a bilateral agreement has been signed with the Republic of Zambia for the manufacture of electric batteries in the province of Haut-Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Considering that the country's coverage in terms of research is approximately only 19% of the national territory, it must be deduced that the country is still underexplored. This explains the recent launch of a vast geological research campaign through the creation of the National Geological Service of Congo.
This campaign, which started with the Katanga block in the cupro-cobaltifère and stannifère sector, will extend in the next few days on the Kasaï block for nickel and chromium. The objective is to discover new deposits that can be the subject of calls for tenders, with a view to concluding mutually profitable public/private partnerships. Also, faced with the challenges of the day, mainly with regard to the race towards the energy transition, the Democratic Republic of Congo is positioning itself as a solution country, in view of the occurrences of so-called critical minerals with which its subsoil is full.
The Democratic Republic of Congo can therefore play a major role in Africa's stability and development. To achieve this, I am once again launching once again and unequivocally, a call to action through win-win partnerships. This model implies trade agreements where partners derive relatively fair benefits.
I invite you to come and explore the many opportunities that my country offers at the moment. These include the project to install a local refining plant of our Cobalt to produce the precursors necessary for the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles, as well as the establishment of a value chain in the artisanal gold sector as well as that of 3 T (coltan, tin and tungsten) by the installation of processing entities.
The mining sector of the Democratic Republic of Congo can only benefit the investors you are if it meets the legitimate aspirations of local communities impacted by mining projects.
It is in this precise context that mechanisms promoting the redistribution of income from mining activities have been inserted into the legislation of my country, for the benefit of the populations affected by mining projects.
This includes the obligation, on the part of the holders of mining rights in the exploitation phase, to sign specifications with local communities defining their social responsibility, to constitute and make available an endowment of at least 0.3% of turnover for contributions to community development projects.''
What foreign investors could help him realize this win-win vision in favor of the DRC?
COLTAN-ETAIN-LITHIUM AND OTHER CRITICAL MINERALS
Nigel Munro Ferguson is a geologist and businessman who has been in several different companies. Mr. Ferguson holds the position of Managing Director and Executive Director at AVZ Minerals Ltd. and is a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.
In the past, Nigel Munro Ferguson was National Director at Ashanti Goldfields Co.
He was educated in one of the best private schools in Hobart, Friends, where he played rugby and rowed.
After a degree in geology from the University of Tasmania, he began working in mining exploration across several countries around the world. Africa became his specialty, and he ran Ashanti Goldfields in Tanzania, where he bought a gold mine that is now one of the most profitable in AngloGold Ashanti.
Appointed Technical Director of AVZ Minerals in February 2017 by its then President and Chief Executive Officer Klaus Eckof, in 2018, a year after Ferguson became General Manager replacing Mr. Eckof, AVZ said it had discovered "
the largest hard rock spodumene deposit" in the world near Manono, a city located in an area formerly called "
Triangle of Death" with the 1998 geologists from Dathcom Mining, the partnership company with Cominière and Dathomir.
First viable feasibility study at Cominière
Thanks to the technical work and explorations carried out by Congolese and Australian geologists under the technical direction of experienced geologist Graeme Godsman Johnston, AVZ valued the only mining research permit that remained in its portfolio after a suspicious transfer of other permits to HYVEST and HYSEN partnerships with Chinese and a Congolese politician.
Pending the notification of the Operating Permit (EP) for permit 13359, the project revives the hope for residents to secure their livelihoods.
While President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi calls on serious investors to explore together mineral resources in Katanga and Kasai, Nigel Ferguson and AVZ are revealed to be among the right natural and legal persons that the Head of State needs for mines in the DRC.
After recovering the 13359 research permit and the Dathcom Mining joint venture in early 2017 by buying 60% of Dathomir in the project and paying USD6 million to the state-state company Cominière, AVZ had more or less 30,000 meters of diamond drilling carried out, as well as RC drilling and then carried out a feasibility study (within the legal deadline, in 3 years
Energy transition and infrastructure
If exploited, Manono lithium will help the DRC to better compete with other producing countries such as China, Argentina or Chile.
The investment cost of about $600 million to build a plant, buy mining equipment to the processing plant, the crusher-crusher of materials to pass through a dense separation plant that will be followed by sorting by size to have about 700,000 tons per year of the product called SE6, which is 6% lithium spodumene concentrate, was considered normal and acceptable by First Quantum's Ir
The metallurgical testing work undertaken by Kingston Process Metallurgy in Canada confirmed that the lithium sulphate plant process proposed by AVZ to treat lithium from Dathcom Mining in Manono was technically feasible and that the 1.5 kg of primary lithium sulfate produced was suitable as a raw material in battery factories.
The production of lithium by AVZ and Dathcom is also something that some villagers expect because they want to ensure their livelihoods. If the authorities issue the license, lithium production could become the main provider of jobs in Manono.
Comprehensive technical studies of due diligence of the railways to Lobito and Dar es Salaam have been conducted and both are considered suitable for the export of the product. This is part of the construction of basic infrastructure by serious miners for the benefit of the country and the populations, Mark Bristow and Kibali did so with the national road that goes from Doko (Watsa territory) to Aru (Ituri territory) on the border with Uganda. Road rehabilitated in clay, maintained by Kibali despite paying the toll at the Foner.
Two main product export routes were selected, namely Manono at the intermodal intermediate station of Kabondo Dianda (Province of Haut Lomami) by road, then on the SNCC to Tenke and the TAZARA railway to the port of Dar es Salaam.
The second goes from Manono to the head of the Kabondo Dianda line by road, then on SNCC to Tenke and towards the Angolan railway (CFB) to the port of Lobito. A third possible option is also available to Walvis Bay via the Walvis Bay Corridor.
Manono Special Economic Zone
AVZ worked closely with the government officials concerned, mainly Minister Julien Paluku of Industry, to facilitate a special economic zone around the Manono project, which the Head of State spoke to Mining Indaba on February 7, 2023, which will offer a tax regime favorable to the project and facilitate industrialization in this part of the country.
This is the only monster mining project of President Fatshi's current mandate and which will produce significant lasting results in communities and make it more than popular in a province that has experienced the throes of the war imposed by Rwanda through the RCD rebel movement.
In addition and like the Kibali Gold Mine mining project led by Mark Bristow, AVZ Power worked with the technical services of the National Ministry of Energy and Hydraulic Resources and Cominière, according to several documentary sources and testimonies from the General Secretariat for Energy, until producing a feasibility study on the rehabilitation of the Mpiana Mwanga I and II hydroelectric power plant, in
The refurbishment of the hydroelectric power plant would include the installation of up to 30.9 MW via three new turbine generators in Mpiana Mwanga's number two turbine room.
Low carbon footprint, green and responsible mining
In addition, an independent study on greenhouse gases also indicated that the Manono project was likely to have one of the lowest carbon footprints of all hard rock lithium mines in the world. This was mainly due to AVZ's strategic location next to the Mpiana Mwanga hydroelectric power plant which, once renovated, was to provide 99% of the Manono project's electricity needs.
The greenhouse gas assessment, which was carried out by the world's leading environmental and sustainability Environmental Resource Management (ERM) consultants, assessed the emissions associated with all operations over the 20-year life of the Manono project, processing facilities and road transport of products.
AVZ is also studying and planning important
greenhouse gas mitigation measures, including:
The purchase of an electric mining fleet once commercially viable equipment is available;
The generation of hydrogen from surplus renewable electricity to allow the use of fuel cell electric vehicles; and the establishment of a 5,000-hectare sequestration plantation.
"We will continue to strive to improve our greenhouse gas emissions profile as we develop the world-class Manono project," Ferguson said.
"In the end, we want the electricity produced by the Mpiana Mwanga hydroelectric plant to be used to operate all our mining equipment, making the Manono project a 100% green mine".
The technical experience present at the service of the country
Nigel Ferguson has been active in mining exploration in the DRC since about 2000.
He created and managed several companies, some of which were very successful and others were not.
In 2004, Nigel and his team discovered the Kibali gold deposit in the Haut-Uélé province. It was with the Australian company Moto Goldfields listed on the Australian Stock Exchange that Klaus Eckof headed, who knows him very well and respects him. She was involved in a standard JV with the DRC government.
After their discovery, they had drilled the mineralized body and finally sold it to Randgold. This mine, discovered by Nigel and his team, now underlies much of the DRC's economy in the northeastern part of the country.
He also launched
Tiger Resources (which was a partner of Gécamines in the Kipoi Mining Company - SEK, in Haut-Katanga on the Likasi Road), a company that was also lost for the mismanaged Chinese commercial interests leading to its closure and the loss of jobs.
His management team at AVZ was handpicked for their collective experience with a Congolese engineer Serge Ngandu who led Areva's operations in the Central African Republic and worked for several multinationals at home and around the world.
At Dathcom Mining, they developed the technical opportunity demonstrating that they are not "adventurers" but explorers, designers and developers of model mining projects with a long experience of success in the DRC.
The vision of AVZ and its boss Nigel Ferguson (developing a monster, complete and fully green integrative project by developing the community that goes from exploration to production without requiring the country for electricity) crosses that of the Head of State Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi, the Government of the Republic would do useful work by working on win-win partnerships in the critical minerals sector of Katanga
AVZ is the first mining partner of the Congolese state to offer it the taking of shares on the stock exchange in Australia as part of the JV Dathcom Mining. An example to be followed by others, an opportunity for the country.
By Benita Nkaya