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D.R. Congo to publish mines contract report March 20
By Joe Bavier
453 words
17 March 2008

Source: Reuters News

KINSHASA, March 17 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo will publish the long-awaited final report of a mines contract review commission on Thursday, Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu said on Monday.

"We announce to all the sector's operators and to the interested public that the government of the republic has decided to publish the final report of the mining contract revisitation commission," Kabwelulu said at a mining conference.

"It can be found from Thursday March 20, 2008 on the website www.miningcongo.cd ... Government resolutions will follow," he said.

The government created the commission last year following the vast central African country's first democratic elections in more than four decades in 2006.

The commission's task, initially scheduled to take six months, was to overhaul contracts signed during a chaotic 1998-2003 war and ensure the state got a fair share of revenues from exploitation of its mineral reserves, which were a key factor that fuelled the conflict.

Kabwelulu's Mines Ministry said on Feb. 18 that it had completed its review of 60 deals and transmitted its findings to the companies concerned ahead of a "brief and open" appeal process.

Last week the governor of Congo's southern Katanga province, the heart of the country's copper and cobalt mining industry, said the slow pace of the commission's work was hindering investment by major mining companies.

In November, a leaked preliminary report from the review commission said none of the contracts under study were considered "viable" in their current form. It said that all would require renegotiation or should be cancelled.

Congo's Deputy Mines Minister Victor Kasongo told a mining conference in South Africa earlier this year that the review panel had been surprised by the number of flawed contracts, which were largely responsible for the delays in the review.

The country's once mighty mining sector, a potential treasure trove of largely unexploited concessions, has seen its output decrease and its infrastructure crumble during years of conflict, corruption and neglect.

However, interest is again booming since the 2006 polls, which confirmed Joseph Kabila as president and were intended to usher in a new era of stability and economic growth.

The sector has seen major investment from international mining companies such as Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc , BHP Billiton , and Katanga Mining Ltd .