NEWSECONOMY
CATH, AVZ, USA, Zambia, is the Congolese government meddling in the lithium battery project?
July 4, 2023
Kiki Kienge
By
Kiki Kienge
Is the Congolese government meddling in the lithium battery manufacturing project in the DRC?
The Minister of Industry,
Julien Paluku has just paid a visit to China to the facilities of the world's leading battery producer, the Chinese giant, CATH:
"Arrived this morning at the headquarters of CATL, the world's number one producer of electric batteries, the Congolese delegation that I lead toured the technological facilities to get a projection of the factory to be developed in #DRC after the conclusions of the DRC -AFRICA BUSINESS FORUM of Nov 2021. It took 24 years to get there since 1999 in order to provide other European, Asian and American giants with the electric batteries necessary for the energy transition. Julien Paluku.
Namely that the lithium from the DR Congo which must be used in the manufacture of batteries, is that of Manono in the province of Tanganyika, whose government through COMININIER is in joint venture (DATHCOM) with the Australians of AVZ MINERALS .
Following political cabals, the power of Kinshasa by its Ministry of Mines, decided to cancel the exploitation license of DATHCOM and would prefer to initiate a collaboration with the Chinese of ZIJIN on the exploitation of the lithium of Manono. In particular on new bases and a new joint venture, of which the Chinese of ZIJIN claim 71% and 29% to the Congolese.
Something that AVZ MINERALS does not accept, given the contract signed with COMINIERE in 2017 and plans to go to court against the DR Congo which wants to cancel the 75% of the shares of the DATHCOM joint venture of the Australians, without advancing any grounds that hurts the joint venture agreement.
Even the local community of Manono does not see favorably the arrival of the Chinese in the exploitation of its lithium, proof of the last outing of Mgr
Vincent Kwanga , Catholic Bishop of Manono:
“blocking this process with AVZ, for us it means that we are not liked. If ZIJIN and COMINIERE file a complaint against AVZ, while we believe that it is rather AVZ that should file a complaint against our government, because they have signed agreements, that has not been respected and that can lead to judgments at the level of international trade. I don't know if our government is not going to spend billions of US dollars because of this contract that they have just broken unilaterally. »
The Chinese group CATH with its branch CATL, has a partnership agreement signed in 2021 with the Australians for the sale of 24% of the shares of AVZ MINERALS in DATHCOM at 24 million $US, for the development of the battery construction project in DR Congo with Zambia and the United States.
It makes you wonder, when the Congolese government asks CATH to support it in a lithium battery development project in Manono, is it unaware that CATH is collaborating on the same project with the Australians of AVZ MINERALS? whose contract he wants to break illegally?
What would be the strategy of the Chinese CATH, canceled the 24% agreement with AVZ and work with the Congolese government, or demanded from the Congolese government the participation of AVZ and to respect the contract of DATHCOM, of which he himself would own 24% by see it from the sale of Australian shares?
Good in all this politico-economic cacophony, the population of Manono awaits the development of the air province of Tanganyika and the jobs promised by the current power.