AVZ Discussion 2022

JNRB

Regular
Correct, just kicking the can down the road. They will raise the ceiling and in 12 months they will reach the ceiling again. Imagine if you did that with your household budget. It has to begin to come down at some point otherwise there will be no alternative other than to default. May not happen in my lifetime but it has to happen.
If you're gonna get off-topic, at least be accurate about it.

Debt-ceiling raising is to pay for things Congress has already approved to spend money on - ie the can has already been kicked. They still have to chase after it (raise ceiling) but then they can decide not to kick it again ( reduce debt spending).

Also national monetary/fiscal policy is NOTHING like a household budget and any analogy comparing to such is deliberately trying to mislead people. Have you ever tried telling your bank that YOU are going to decide interest rates now to suit your household budget? Or telling you employer that you have just redone your household budget and decided they have to give you more money now? Or when did you decide your household budget needed more liquidity so you were going to create some more money? Or tell your kids you were cutting their pocket money because it was causing household inflation? Or when did you use your household budget to invest in infrastructure to make your household more productive?

Comparing national finances to household budgets is only ever done to mislead people about the way national finances work in an effort to get them to support less spending. Household budgets operate at the very bottom level of a system. National monetary/fiscal policy IS the system. Comparing them is like saying me sharing my fries at McDonald's is equivalent to running a fast food chain.
 
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Cumquat Cap

Regular

Mining

Chinese Miner Zijin Vows to Continue Huge Lithium Buying Spree​

December 1, 2022

Zijin has spent $16 billion buying three lithium mines over the past year, but its president says the group aims to become one of the top three to five mining companies in the world by 2030​

The-company-logo-of-Zijin-Mining-Group-Chinas-biggest-listed-gold-producer-is-seen-at-a-press-conf-in-HK-Rs.jpeg
The company logo of Zijin Mining Group, China's biggest listed gold producer, is seen at a press conference in Hong Kong. Reuters file photo.

The head of China’s Zijin Mining Group has vowed to invest heavily in the EV metals sector, but conceded that lithium prices could halve over the next three years from the record levels they are now at.
Zou Laichang, who is president of Zijin – China’s top gold miner and a leading producer of copper, spoke at the Reuters Next conference currently being held in New York.
Zijin has spent $16 billion buying three lithium mines over the past year, making it one of the world’s top 10 producers of the battery metal.
But the flurry of deals comes amid warnings that lithium prices, driven to records by rapid growth in electric vehicles, may peak next year because of a looming supply glut.
“Zijin aims to become one of the top three to five mining companies in the world by 2030. To do that, we need a new growth driver on top of our gold, copper and zinc sectors,” Zou said.
“New energy and new materials are the key strategic path for us to achieve this goal.”
Zijin’s recent purchases include Canada’s Neo Lithium Corp, a company focused on lithium mining in Argentina, bought for C$920 million ($690 million) in a deal completed in January and giving it access to the Tres Quebradas (3Q) project.
It also bought majority stakes in the Lakkor Tso Lithium Salar mine in China’s Tibet region and the Xiangyuan lithium mine in Hunan province.
Zou said more investments are planned, but gave no details on how much the company plans to spend. Zijin has a market capitalisation of about $35 billion and had a net profit of 15.7 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) last year.

 
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BEISHA

Top 20
If you're gonna get off-topic, at least be accurate about it.

Debt-ceiling raising is to pay for things Congress has already approved to spend money on - ie the can has already been kicked. They still have to chase after it (raise ceiling) but then they can decide not to kick it again ( reduce debt spending).

Also national monetary/fiscal policy is NOTHING like a household budget and any analogy comparing to such is deliberately trying to mislead people. Have you ever tried telling your bank that YOU are going to decide interest rates now to suit your household budget? Or telling you employer that you have just redone your household budget and decided they have to give you more money now? Or when did you decide your household budget needed more liquidity so you were going to create some more money? Or tell your kids you were cutting their pocket money because it was causing household inflation? Or when did you use your household budget to invest in infrastructure to make your household more productive?

Comparing national finances to household budgets is only ever done to mislead people about the way national finances work in an effort to get them to support less spending. Household budgets operate at the very bottom level of a system. National monetary/fiscal policy IS the system. Comparing them is like saying me sharing my fries at McDonald's is equivalent to running a fast food chain.
USA total debt is 31.5 trillion dollars, USA GDP to debt ratio is 96% and rising, USA annual GDP is 23 trillion.......USA is falling down a rabbit hole if it doesn't get a grip and reduce that gdp / debt ratio, especially if a recession is on the horizon.

As a comparison, China gdp / debt is a whopping 280%, ......:eek::eek:

Global gdp / debt is even worse 380%...wtf?

Aust gdp / debt is 22%.......we are cool

The analogy of comparing those stats with average folk household budgets is very apt, cause if we as normal folk are that fucking cavalier / irresponsible as opposed to overseas governments, then we would be bankrupt and screwed, governments just raise the over draft.

Alot of experts believe a recession is on the horizon, possibly Next year, if that being the case, then global markets will experience contagion.

Imo
 
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Update of the Chinese contract: the DRC and China in discussions in Beijing

The updating of the "Chinese contract", signed in 2008 by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and China, was on the menu of exchanges in Beijing, between the Congolese delegation and the Chinese party, learned the ACP from Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"After fifteen years of Chinese contracts, they must be updated, comply with the requirements and development needs of the DRC, taking into account the challenges of the moment", reported the source, explaining in essence the subject of the day's discussions between the two parties led respectively by the Deputy Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs, Christophe Lutundula, and the head of the Chinese “National Reform and Development Commission”, Zheng Shanjie.

Zheng Shanjie promised to sensitize Chinese companies already in the DRC in the mining sector, such as TFM and SICOMINES, on the scrupulous respect of Congolese laws. :unsure:

“All these contracts will be subject to the memorandum that the two Chinese and Congolese Heads of State will sign one of these mornings for this new dimension of cooperation”, explained the Congolese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In addition, files on diplomacy, the environment, finance, infrastructure, mining and digital technology have also been put on the table, so that the objectives guiding this cooperation respond to the context, both national and internationally, we said.

A delegation of six members of the Congolese government accompanied Deputy Prime Minister Christophe Lutundula during these exchanges with the Chinese side.

The DRC for the review of the contract

During the Council of Ministers, held in March 2023, the President of the Republic had mentioned "the imperative need to revisit the agreement signed between the DRC and the Group of Chinese companies (GEC) in April 2008".

Felix Tshisekedi, said so after taking note of the conclusions of the audit carried out by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) on the execution of this Agreement. (y)

According to the IGF, this contract, which had raised a lot of hope at the time, did not keep its promise: that of providing the DRC with a range of the most modern infrastructures.

In 2008, the Agreement signed provided that the group of Chinese companies (GEC) would provide approximately 6 billion USD to finance the infrastructures.

In return, the DRC offered its minerals, mainly cobalt and copper, with an estimated value of 10 million tonnes per year.

To carry out this project, a joint venture called SICOMINES was created.

Despite some readjustments to the initial contract, the rate of completion of infrastructure under this Agreement remains very low.

It is even disillusionment, according to the IGF. (y)

Indeed, only one hospital was built out of the 32 expected. :oops:

Kavumu airport and Goma airport have not been rehabilitated as promised. :(

Around 380 km of roads have been built or rehabilitated out of the 7088 km planned. :rolleyes:

Finally, no km of railway was built out of the 380 listed. :eek:

In the energy sector, the work of the Katende hydroelectric dam in Kasai is struggling to be finalized, revealed the audit of the General Inspectorate of Finance. :rolleyes:

For his part, the Chinese ambassador stationed in the DRC, Zhu Jing, had estimated that this contract is not "win-lose" as attested by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) but rather win-win with regard to data available to the Chinese side. :ROFLMAO:


“Chinese companies do not have the right to say such and such an infrastructure project will be carried out…

All infrastructure projects are decided and proposed by the Congolese government.

The list in question (Editor's note around thirty hospitals, the 3000 km of railway, the Rehabilitation of Kavumu airports,) is not a list of commitments, it is rather a pool of projects that the Congolese government plans to do,” said the Chinese diplomat. :unsure:

mediacongo

"In addition, files on diplomacy, the environment, finance, infrastructure, mining and digital technology have also been put on the table, so that the objectives guiding this cooperation respond to the context, both national and internationally, we said"

As @cruiser51 post referred.... Who in their right mind would allow China to build the digital technology in the DCR, it's bad enough with their hackers all ready attacking other African nations. Just had a look at the CAMI website and they have been fucking around with the tenement again, not just now saying 100% owned by Cominiere, the tenement also appears to have changed shape.

Anyone interested in contacting politicians could try Kevin Rudd. He speaks Chinese and is speaking at the Battery Gigafactories Event in Washington next week. The Deputy Premier of WA is also speaking there.


Battery Gigafactories USA 2023 Event

When:
8-9 June 2023
Where: JW Marriott Washington DC, USA

This event brings together high level policy makers, energy industry leaders, automotive OEMs, battery gigafactory operators, financial institutions and the global supply chain for lithium ion batteries.

Confirmed Speakers Include:

CEO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

Simon Moores,

US Department of Energy:
Jigar Shah, Director, Loan Programs Office

The White House National Economic Council:
Alex Jacquez, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy

Ambassador, Embassy of Australia to the United States
Hon Dr. Kevin Rudd

President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank of the United States
Reta Jo Lewis

U.S. Department of State: Deputy Special Presidential Coordinator - Global Infrastructure Investment
Helaina Matza

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Transformation, U.S. Department of State
Anna Shpitsberg

Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development,
Government of Western Australia
Hon Roger Cook


@BEISHA .... "we as normal folk are that fucking cavalier"

For a minute there I thought you said "we normal folk are eating caviar".... Just looking for some humour anywhere I can get it BEISH

Times are hard when @John25 didn't even get to have his vegan sausage sizzle, might be because @Nellie17 had a better offer

Now don't you call me dickbrain Nells.... You know I'm just looking for humour until we either get the ML or you guys have that bridge run ;)
 
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Hudnut

Regular
Mining

Chinese Miner Zijin Vows to Continue Huge Lithium Buying Spree​

December 1, 2022

Zijin has spent $16 billion buying three lithium mines over the past year, but its president says the group aims to become one of the top three to five mining companies in the world by 2030​

The-company-logo-of-Zijin-Mining-Group-Chinas-biggest-listed-gold-producer-is-seen-at-a-press-conf-in-HK-Rs.jpeg
The company logo of Zijin Mining Group, China's biggest listed gold producer, is seen at a press conference in Hong Kong. Reuters file photo.

The head of China’s Zijin Mining Group has vowed to invest heavily in the EV metals sector, but conceded that lithium prices could halve over the next three years from the record levels they are now at.
Zou Laichang, who is president of Zijin – China’s top gold miner and a leading producer of copper, spoke at the Reuters Next conference currently being held in New York.
Zijin has spent $16 billion buying three lithium mines over the past year, making it one of the world’s top 10 producers of the battery metal.
But the flurry of deals comes amid warnings that lithium prices, driven to records by rapid growth in electric vehicles, may peak next year because of a looming supply glut.
“Zijin aims to become one of the top three to five mining companies in the world by 2030. To do that, we need a new growth driver on top of our gold, copper and zinc sectors,” Zou said.
“New energy and new materials are the key strategic path for us to achieve this goal.”
Zijin’s recent purchases include Canada’s Neo Lithium Corp, a company focused on lithium mining in Argentina, bought for C$920 million ($690 million) in a deal completed in January and giving it access to the Tres Quebradas (3Q) project.
It also bought majority stakes in the Lakkor Tso Lithium Salar mine in China’s Tibet region and the Xiangyuan lithium mine in Hunan province.
Zou said more investments are planned, but gave no details on how much the company plans to spend. Zijin has a market capitalisation of about $35 billion and had a net profit of 15.7 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) last year.


I wouldn't mind if Z went on a buying spree, rather than theft.
 
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Correct, just kicking the can down the road. They will raise the ceiling and in 12 months they will reach the ceiling again. Imagine if you did that with your household budget. It has to begin to come down at some point otherwise there will be no alternative other than to default. May not happen in my lifetime but it has to happen.
Households are not the issuers of currencies like (most) governments are, so comparisons of government debt to household debt don‘t really hold water.

If you’re open for having your mind bent/changed, have a read up about Modern Monetory Theory: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/primer-on-modern-monetary-theory.pdf

if you want to go the whole 9 yards, I thoroughly recommend this:
 
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Frank

Top 20
"In addition, files on diplomacy, the environment, finance, infrastructure, mining and digital technology have also been put on the table, so that the objectives guiding this cooperation respond to the context, both national and internationally, we said"

As @cruiser51 post referred.... Who in their right mind would allow China to build the digital technology in the DCR, it's bad enough with their hackers all ready attacking other African nations. Just had a look at the CAMI website and they have been fucking around with the tenement again, not just now saying 100% owned by Cominiere, the tenement also appears to have changed shape.

Anyone interested in contacting politicians could try Kevin Rudd. He speaks Chinese and is speaking at the Battery Gigafactories Event in Washington next week. The Deputy Premier of WA is also speaking there.


Battery Gigafactories USA 2023 Event

When:
8-9 June 2023
Where: JW Marriott Washington DC, USA

This event brings together high level policy makers, energy industry leaders, automotive OEMs, battery gigafactory operators, financial institutions and the global supply chain for lithium ion batteries.

Confirmed Speakers Include:

CEO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

Simon Moores,

US Department of Energy:
Jigar Shah, Director, Loan Programs Office

The White House National Economic Council:
Alex Jacquez, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy

Ambassador, Embassy of Australia to the United States
Hon Dr. Kevin Rudd

President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank of the United States
Reta Jo Lewis

U.S. Department of State: Deputy Special Presidential Coordinator - Global Infrastructure Investment
Helaina Matza

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Transformation, U.S. Department of State
Anna Shpitsberg

Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development,
Government of Western Australia
Hon Roger Cook


@BEISHA .... "we as normal folk are that fucking cavalier"

For a minute there I thought you said "we normal folk are eating caviar".... Just looking for some humour anywhere I can get it BEISH

Times are hard when @John25 didn't even get to have his vegan sausage sizzle, might be because @Nellie17 had a better offer

Now don't you call me dickbrain Nells.... You know I'm just looking for humour until we either get the ML or you guys have that bridge run ;)


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Frank

Top 20
1685091442780.png


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Dazmac66

Regular
December 1, 2022
Zijin has spent $16 billion buying three lithium mines over the past year.

So the boss of Zijin spruiks about buying 3 lithium mines for 16 billion yet no mention of the bargain of the century!

Also no mention out of China of the world's largest undeveloped lithium deposit which is pivotal to the DRC's future in many ways.

This is just fucked up. Could have been retired and travelling the world. Really starting to bite and not just the coin side of things but the truly mind numbing stupidity and opportunity cost of this ongoing nightmare.

Any chance we will get more info from the company before the ICC hearing or are we left to play the guessing game on our investments till the snails in France decide our fate?
 
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BRICK

Where’s Zeebot 😶‍🌫️
December 1, 2022
Zijin has spent $16 billion buying three lithium mines over the past year.

So the boss of Zijin spruiks about buying 3 lithium mines for 16 billion yet no mention of the bargain of the century!

Also no mention out of China of the world's largest undeveloped lithium deposit which is pivotal to the DRC's future in many ways.

This is just fucked up. Could have been retired and travelling the world. Really starting to bite and not just the coin side of things but the truly mind numbing stupidity and opportunity cost of this ongoing nightmare.

Any chance we will get more info from the company before the ICC hearing or are we left to play the guessing game on our investments till the snails in France decide our fate?
This is certainly fucked up. But hey, I was stuck in the red after loading up/Averaging up in 2018 and getting caught for a few years hahah. So second time around 😂
Especially upsetting though when I see Felix posting on his LinkedIn profile arriving all smiles in 🇨🇳.
 
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The Fox

Regular
Love your optimism mate and that nunber would be very nice. However if say Zijin were to make an genuine offer I’m tipping the number you have is missing a decimal point and the letters USD in front of it. 😁

That’s my Best guess as a baseline or expected number IMO to be offered by the Chinese crooks. Doesn’t mean it would be accepted of course. 😁

Any such offer may very well be a trigger for others to act if they think there is a clear run to production and guarantees provided by Felix and Co.

🦊
Love your optimism mate and that nunber would be very nice. However if say Zijin were to make an genuine offer I’m tipping the number you have is missing a decimal point and the letters USD in front of it. 😁

That’s my Best guess for a baseline or expected number IMO to be offered by the Chinese crooks. Doesn’t mean it would be accepted of course. 😁

Any such offer may very well be a trigger for others to act if they think there is a clear run to production and guarantees provided by Felix and Co.

If the waters continue to be muddy, there will be limited buyers lining up IMO.

🦊
 
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Bray

Regular
Flashback Friday to when we all had a heap of money that we were able to make our own decisions about. Good times…
Happy Hour Party GIF by Great Big Story
 
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ptlas

Regular
This is certainly fucked up. But hey, I was stuck in the red after loading up/Averaging up in 2018 and getting caught for a few years hahah. So second time around 😂
Especially upsetting though when I see Felix posting on his LinkedIn profile arriving all smiles in 🇨🇳.
Did same, entered 2016.
Too fucking clever, too fucking early
 
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ptlas

Regular
Love your optimism mate and that nunber would be very nice. However if say Zijin were to make an genuine offer I’m tipping the number you have is missing a decimal point and the letters USD in front of it. 😁

That’s my Best guess as a baseline or expected number IMO to be offered by the Chinese crooks. Doesn’t mean it would be accepted of course. 😁

Any such offer may very well be a trigger for others to act if they think there is a clear run to production and guarantees provided by Felix and Co.

🦊

Love your optimism mate and that nunber would be very nice. However if say Zijin were to make an genuine offer I’m tipping the number you have is missing a decimal point and the letters USD in front of it. 😁

That’s my Best guess for a baseline or expected number IMO to be offered by the Chinese crooks. Doesn’t mean it would be accepted of course. 😁

Any such offer may very well be a trigger for others to act if they think there is a clear run to production and guarantees provided by Felix and Co.

If the waters continue to be muddy, there will be limited buyers lining up IMO.

🦊
You can say that again.

BTW $12 is the latest figure in a long running joke.
It would value AVZ at $32 Billion, which is double what Z spent but AVZ probably double the resource.
So fair price.

US$ of course.

Ultimately, I suspect the ships will mainly be sailing west and not east.

PS Having a Leonard Cohen night and starting on Sheath Stout soon.

Apologies in advance
 
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The Fox

Regular
You can say that again.

BTW $12 is the latest figure in a long running joke.
It would value AVZ at $32 Billion, which is double what Z spent but AVZ probably double the resource.
So fair price.

US$ of course.

Ultimately, I suspect the ships will mainly be sailing west and not east.

PS Having a Leonard Cohen night and starting on Sheath Stout soon.

Apologies in advance
And again. 😂

Started the message on my phone and edited it and finished on the laptop, guess thats what happens, double bubble.

Have a good weekend all. 😁

🦊
 
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BEISHA

Top 20
Does anyone know if Graeme is allowed back in country after being purportedly arrested for faking share certificates - if so, why are we paying him so generously when clearly no site activity will be happening for a while and he might not be even allowed into the DRC (or doesn't wish to return for fear of being detained)? He also managed to sell circa $1M aussie in February just before the trading halt which does not sit well with me at all. Cheers
You are either a troll, or someone who has failed miserably doing their DYOR.....;)

I spoke to Graeme Johnston at the recent AGM, he spoke candidly about the "fake share certificate" and the rumoured 3 year jail term ..........all a load of bullshit.

Just more corruption, this time from Dathomir and the snake Simon Cong , trying their hardest to refute they sold their 15% interest of Dathcom to AVZ....:cautious:

As for Graeme Johnston selling shares in February 2022, thats complete bullshit, he actually sold 753, 000 on the 21 January, it he did that in order to comply with a investment strategy of his Superannuation fund, however, if you also happened to notice, he increased his ordinary shareholding from 10 , 651, 000 - 12, 151, 070 on the 14/1/22, that was the day 4 other directors increased their holdings.

Get your facts right , or get burnt !


imo
 
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BEISHA

Top 20
"In addition, files on diplomacy, the environment, finance, infrastructure, mining and digital technology have also been put on the table, so that the objectives guiding this cooperation respond to the context, both national and internationally, we said"

As @cruiser51 post referred.... Who in their right mind would allow China to build the digital technology in the DCR, it's bad enough with their hackers all ready attacking other African nations. Just had a look at the CAMI website and they have been fucking around with the tenement again, not just now saying 100% owned by Cominiere, the tenement also appears to have changed shape.

Anyone interested in contacting politicians could try Kevin Rudd. He speaks Chinese and is speaking at the Battery Gigafactories Event in Washington next week. The Deputy Premier of WA is also speaking there.


Battery Gigafactories USA 2023 Event

When:
8-9 June 2023
Where: JW Marriott Washington DC, USA

This event brings together high level policy makers, energy industry leaders, automotive OEMs, battery gigafactory operators, financial institutions and the global supply chain for lithium ion batteries.

Confirmed Speakers Include:

CEO, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence

Simon Moores,

US Department of Energy:
Jigar Shah, Director, Loan Programs Office

The White House National Economic Council:
Alex Jacquez, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy

Ambassador, Embassy of Australia to the United States
Hon Dr. Kevin Rudd

President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank of the United States
Reta Jo Lewis

U.S. Department of State: Deputy Special Presidential Coordinator - Global Infrastructure Investment
Helaina Matza

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Transformation, U.S. Department of State
Anna Shpitsberg

Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development,
Government of Western Australia
Hon Roger Cook


@BEISHA .... "we as normal folk are that fucking cavalier"

For a minute there I thought you said "we normal folk are eating caviar".... Just looking for some humour anywhere I can get it BEISH

Times are hard when @John25 didn't even get to have his vegan sausage sizzle, might be because @Nellie17 had a better offer

Now don't you call me dickbrain Nells.... You know I'm just looking for humour until we either get the ML or you guys have that bridge run
"Just looking for some humour anywhere I can get it BEISH"


  1. What did the toaster say to the slice of bread? "I want you inside me."....:p
  2. "Give it to me! Give it to me!" she yelled. "I'm so wet, give it to me now!" She could scream all she wanted, but I was keeping the umbrella....;)
  3. They say that during sex you burn off as many calories as running eight miles. Who the hell runs eight miles in 30 seconds?.......🤪
  4. What's the difference between kinky and perverted? Kinky is when you tickle your girlfriend with a feather, perverted is when you use the whole bird......:eek:
  5. Why do walruses love a Tupperware party? They're always on the lookout for a tight seal.....:)
  6. A woman walks out of the shower, winks at her boyfriend, and says, "Honey, I shaved myself down there. Do you know what that means?" The boyfriend says, "Yeah, it means the drain is clogged again."........:(

There you go Money........ask and you shall receive.
 
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TIA! These idiots are going to mortgage their future. Here’s how this plays out. Felix the ding dong gives everything away to China for cents on the dollar (less). His people rebel and start burning mines and decapitating Chinese imperial miners. The Chinese send in their idiot military as a peace keeping force. Take the contents of the mines for less than cents on the dollar. Penny Wong gets a deal with China that starts importing Aussie wines for 100 million. Our idiot BOD take their million dollar pay checks and keep getting jobs in Perth sucking up to other more successful less moronic BODs.
 

Frank

Top 20
Tshisekedi – Xi Jinping, towards the improvement of Sino-Congolese relations

The Tshisekedi – Xi Jinping meeting of this Friday, May 26, 2023 augurs well for the future in bilateral relations between the two countries.

But it is a Tshisekedi determined to renegotiate a fifteen-year-old contract that the Democratic Republic of Congo wants to review.

A commission created last March by President Felix Tshisekedi, whose conclusions were revealed on Wednesday May 24 by Reuters, recommends reversing the equity stakes in a company jointly owned with China to make the DRC the majority shareholder.

Arriving in Beijing since Wednesday, President Félix Tshisekedi will stay there until May 28.

The main objective of the Congolese president's visit is economic cooperation.

The Head of State hopes to renegotiate there the terms of an agreement concluded fifteen years ago between the two countries.

Because this agreement, presented at the time as "the contract of the century", first benefits China, to the detriment of the DRC.

From the solution contract to the problems of the Congo…

The "Chinese contract" provides for massive investments by China in the DRC, particularly in road and rail infrastructure, or the construction of around thirty hospitals in exchange for privileged access to Congolese mining resources, particularly the mines of copper and cobalt.

In particular, it led to the creation of a Sino-Congolese joint venture: Sicomines (which brings together Gecamines from the DRC and the GEC, a group of Chinese companies).

At the time, this agreement was presented as a “win-win” partnership which aroused “a lot of hope”, according to Professor Germain Ngoie Tshibambe, from the Department of International Relations at the University of Lubumbashi.

… to disappointment

Fifteen years later, the researcher deplores “the triumph of disillusion” in the face of “the omnipresence of China in Congolese economic life”.

“This strong presence of China in the economic life of the DRC is manifested by the omnipotence of Chinese investments”, explains Germain Ngoie Tshibambe.

80% of the copper and cobalt exported by the DRC goes to China.

“Not only have the Chinese invested in the industrial mining sector, but also the artisanal mining sector.”

The academic details the areas of the Congolese economy in which China is particularly represented: “China is present in the mining sector, but it is also becoming increasingly present in the public works sector.

It is also omnipresent in the road and road infrastructure sector.

There is a project won by China which foresees the construction of more than 1,000 kilometers of roads by China in the eastern DRC.

And another sector is electricity.

In the latter sector, electricity, the power plant projects at Busanga and the dam of the Inga dam megaproject are at the heart of the interest of Chinese investors.

A fool's bargain?

Last February, the Congolese General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) published an audit that caused a stir.

The document mentions overcharging in the work carried out in the DRC, but it notes above all that China has kept less than 50% of its commitments while it has earned ten billion dollars since the signing of the contract, including one billion just in interest paid to Chinese banks for their loans.

The DRC would have withdrawn only a little more than 880 million dollars in profits.

A “fiasco” such for the DRC that the General Inspectorate of Finance is claiming 20 billion dollars in compensation from the Group of Chinese companies.

The head of the IGF, Jules Alingete Key, denounces an “economic colonization” of China.

Mireille Manga, lecturer in political science at the Cameroon Institute of International Relations, refutes this term, even if she welcomes the review of the clauses of the “Chinese contract”.

“After 15 years of cooperation through this contract, multiple interactions, we stop to take stock.

The results observed on the ground do not correspond to the initial expectations and therefore it is normal, as partners and sovereign States, that one party or the other decides to question the agreements and renegotiate them.

It is a normal process of international political life.

Mireille Manga, who coordinated a book published by Éditions Palgrave Macmillan, in October 2022, on “The new Chinese silk roads and new forms of nationalism”, continues: “The General Inspectorate of Finances of the DRC wanted to highlight before the imbalance of this cooperation and the need to renegotiate the partnership.

But it is in no way a question of colonization, because it is about two conscious and very lucid actors in relation to their interests.

The Chinese authorities did not appreciate the new attitude of the Congolese authorities, but they promised the disbursement of 500 million dollars of investment.

This is much less than the three billion from which the DRC hoped to benefit in infrastructure.

Inquiries and investigation

The Kinshasa-Gombe prosecutor opened an investigation in March into certain dysfunctions of the partnership with China.

Several structures have been working for several years to shed light on the irregularities of contracts signed under the Kabila presidency in several areas: the EITI (the Initiative for Transparency in the Extractive Industries), the Congolese Ministry of Mines and Infrastructure, but also NGOs, civil society organizations or even investigative journalists.

Germain Ngoie Tshibambe does not speak of Chinese “imperialism” either, but of disappointment in the hopes placed by the Congolese in the relationship with China: “We thought we were reaping a lot of dividends and we finally see that is a fool's bargain for the DRC.

China, on the other hand, exploits mineral resources.

Some minerals are shipped raw to China, without control, without any monitoring company, the minerals go to factories in China.

Emmanuel Musuyu, the executive secretary of the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for the Monitoring of Reforms and Public Action (Corap), believes that it is essential that the Congolese authorities do not commit again, for the signing of new contracts , the same errors as for the “Chinese contract”.

“Unfortunately, everything is focused at the level of the presidency" deplores Emmanuel Musuyu.

The risk is very high of forgetting the technicians at the level of the specialized ministries, of civil society.

So, we can renegotiate today and fall back into the same [through] in the days to come, that's our fear.

We therefore call on the Head of State to ensure that it is experts who know what is happening on the ground who negotiate, but not a commission with advisers who cannot help things go well.

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