Such immaterial things @fluffynymph don't let the truth get in the way of a good story please, you will make the natives restless.
Speaking of costs....
Glencore Plc will likely have an easier time working in the Democratic Republic of Congo after it paid to solve two of its biggest problems.
Faced with the risk of losing control of its mines, Glencore bowed to the demands from two entities with close government ties -- the state-run mining company Gecamines and Dan Gertler, who is under U.S. sanctions and a friend of President Joseph Kabila.
In two deals announced within days of each other, Glencore agreed to circumvent U.S. sanctions, give up rights to copper reserves, reduce the debt of a local subsidiary and pay a $150 million fee for reasons it didn’t fully explain.
All that shows just how far Glencore is willing to go to keep doing business in Congo, even if it means pushing the boundaries of acceptable behavior for a FTSE 100 Index company. While other mining companies have left Congo because of its difficult operating climate, Glencore is hitching its future to the country, home to some of the richest copper and cobalt deposits -- materials vital for batteries that power the electric cars.
“It’s good news and bad news,” said Hunter Hillcoat, an analyst at Investec Ltd. in London. “The goods news is they can get on with the operations. The bad news they have to keep paying a sanctioned individual."
