NEWSECONOMY
Where are we with the memorandum of understanding on lithium from Manono of the public company RD Congo with the Koreans of Kum Yang?
September 6, 2023
Kiki Kienge
By Kiki Kienge
“As members of the Congolese Civil Society, we want the Congolese population to be informed of the true value of the mining assets to be transferred to the trading firm Kum Yang in the name of the agreement signed and announced yesterday by the Korean media. If it is a public company that has signed the agreement to transfer its shares, the population deserves to know the mining Permit(s) concerned, its (their) location(s) in relation to the mining Permits other companies to avoid unnecessary conflicts and especially not to continually block the Dathcom Mining project eagerly awaited by the populations of Manono. » Declaration of civil society organizations and platforms.
It is a memorandum of understanding that has almost gone unnoticed by the Congolese population, an agreement for the exploitation of lithium in Manono in the province of Tanganyika by the Koreans of the trading firm, Kum Yang with a Congolese "public company" , signed on October 12, 2022 by both parties.
An agreement that should lead to the creation of a joint venture where the Koreans were betting to obtain 60% of the shares with an investment of only 35 to 40 billion Wons (24,480,673 $US to 27,980,652 $US).
"We expect to complete this agreement within 1-2 months of signing this MoU and acquire more than 60% of the mining stake by spending 35-40 billion won (the South Korean currency) for initial development capital expenditure. » Said Park Soon-hyuk , public relations director of Kumyang.
The said Congolese public company had made available to the Koreans of Kum Yang a mining area in Manono surrounding or "part of" permit 13359 already granted to DATHCOM, on which the Australians of AVZ MINERALS have already carried out the feasibility study which has promoted Congolese lithium internationally.
This mining perimeter would contain large quantities of lithium, tin and coltan and others had reassured the officials of the Congolese company signatory of the memorandum of understanding, would represent approximately 36% of the AVZ MINERALS mine area, of which the Initial geological exploration had shown that the DATHCOM mine and the lithium mineral vein are also connected there, so the reserves should be at the same rate level.
Congolese Civil Society organizations and platforms specializing in mining issues (Justicia Asbl, LICOCO, RND Asbl, POM, MDR, GANVE, CDH; ESPOIR ONG, RCEN, CERN/CENCO, TPRDC, MAX IMPACT) had raised to denounce this agreement which they have qualified and defined as; The sale of Manono's lithium mining assets in favor of the South Koreans KUM YANG, in violation of the laws of the Republic, despite the damning conclusions of the General Inspectorate of Finance against COMINIERE, DATHOMIR and ZIJIN is worrying.
“In all cases, this signature took place with a Congolese company
private or public predatory mining assets of the country in Manono that the institutions of the Republic have the legal obligation to identify and especially to sanction taking into account the conclusions of the IGF Report. Our organizations and platforms recall that to date, individuals and private companies cited in the sheet of conclusions of the investigation of the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) which is a Service of the Presidency of the Republic, such as responsible for selling off the assets of COMINIERE and alleged perpetrators of criminal offenses, continue to operate and make money on the backs of the Republic and its population, of which we are a part. »
The memorandum of understanding was published by the Korean media, Paxetv.com on October 13, 2022 signed by journalist Park Na-yeon kk020419@paxetv.com, here is the article:
Geumyang “The first step in securing key minerals for secondary batteries in Africa”… Signing of lithium mining agreements
On the 12th, Geumyang signed a memorandum of understanding with a local resource development company to acquire development and ownership rights to the Manono mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is believed to contain significant deposits of lithium, tin and coltan.
The mine, owned by AVZ, is one of the largest lithium development projects in the world, with estimated reserves of 4 million tonnes of lithium ore, with a high grade of 1.65% lithium in the ore .
According to a physicability study published by AVZ in 2020, it is estimated that 70 tonnes of spodumene can be extracted annually for <> years.
According to Geumyang officials, the area where the MOU was signed represents approximately 36% of the AVZ mine area, and following initial geological exploration, it was found that the AVZ mine and the Lithium veins are connected, so the reserves should be at the same proportion level.
Park Soon-hyuk, Public Relations Manager of Geumyang, said, “We expect to sign this contract within 1~2 months of signing this MoU and secure over 350% stake in the mine. by spending 400 billion~60 billion won as the initial development investment cost. »
Où en est-on avec le protocole d'accord sur le lithium de Manono de la société publique RD Congo avec les Coréens de Kum Yang ? - Kongo Presse
Par Kiki Kienge « En tant que membres de la Société Civile congolaise, nous souhaitons que la population congolaise soit informée de la vraie valeur des actifs miniers à céder à…kongopress.com
Isn't it odd, 2 days before Kiki wrote the above, Joe suggested this:
#DRC : #COMINIERE can sell part of its 25% to South Korea to generate around $250 million needed for the #Manono #Lithium project , with $ AVZ . Otherwise, the deposit north of Fungurume, and a 65% - 35% split would provide #COMINIERE with the necessary funds.
The story looks only slightly similar.
