By Shapi Shacinda LONDON, June 3 Source:(Reuters) - Anvil Mining said on Tuesday it would spend $550 million on expansions and new mining operations to double copper cathode output in Congo to 100,000tonnes within three years.
A senior Anvil executive also told a mining conference that the firm was still awaiting negotiations with state mining group Gecamines as part of a nationwide review of mining contracts.Craig Munro, senior vice president and chief financialofficer, said copper production would rise to 100,000 tonnes in 2011 from around 47,000 tonnes this year after the firm completes investments on new projects and expansions to existing copper projects. He said a total of $170 million has been spent on copper projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where foreign firms have showed renewed interest in copper mining after the end of a brutal civil war in 2003. "Our total output this year will be around 45,000 tonnes to 47,000 tonnes copper cathode. This should then rise to 100,000 tonnes by 2011," Munro told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Mining Investment Congress in London.
"We have so far spent $170 million and total investments should come to $550 million, probably by the beginning of 2011," Munro added.
Munro said more exploration was under way and that prospects for new copper discoveries were looking good. Anvil operates the Dikulushi copper and silver mine, Kulu copper mine and is currently developing the Kinsevere copper mine. It employs a total of 2,550 workers. Kinsenvere open pit mine will be Anvil's most significant investment in the Congo, with a processing plant, electric arc furnace and a 60,000 tonnes per year solvent-extraction electro-winning plant, Munro told the conference.
Munro also said Anvil would engage with state-run Gecamines to hammer out a deal as part of a wide-ranging review of the mining contracts with the government. Congo's government released a report in March that recommended most existing mining contracts be renegotiated following a months-long review process. "There are a number of agreements that we have with Gecamines and we will soon be sitting down with them so that they can confirm these agreements," Munro said. The talks had been initially scheduled for mid-May, but have not yet taken place. He gave no further details.
Munro said there were several challenges to the Anvil operations in the vast mineral-rich central African country, including a lack of infrastructure such as roads and the review of mining contracts. Munro remained upbeat about political risks in the Congo, where several civil wars have left the country's economy in shambles. "We should have some new resources as a result of our drilling in Kolwezi. Despite the vagaries of the moment of trying to sort out the legislation, we are committed to put some more dollars in the DRC," Munro said. Anvil has a dual listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Australian Stock Exchange.
Xstrata Says `Very Real' Chance of African Investment
By Brett Foley June 3 Source:Bloomberg Xstrata Plc, the world's fourth- largest copper producer, said there's a ``very real chance'' it will invest in Africa and has looked at the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. Those countries and parts of west Africa are ``highly prospective,'' Mark Sawyer, Xstrata's general manager of business development, said in a presentation at the World Mining Congress in London today. ``The chance of Xstrata making an investment in that part of the world is very real,'' he said.
Zambia is Africa's largest producer of copper and Congo has more than a 10th of the world's known reserves. Xstrata acquired copper mines in Australia, Chile, Peru and Argentina since its 2002 initial public offering. The metal accounted for 44 percent of Zug, Switzerland-based Xstrata's sales last year, the largest contributor. ``Its business as usual from an M&A perspective,'' Sawyer said in an interview. ``We are reliant to a certain extent on juniors coming to us and we're not obsessed about having control, particularly in opaque countries.''
Xstrata, which started a review of central African mining assets two years ago, has looked at ``countless opportunities,''Sawyer said. ``The challenge is not to spend billions of dollars up front until you know what you are dealing with,'' he said.
Xstrata has had been ``impressed'' by companies operating in the region, including Anvil Mining Ltd., Teal Exploration & Mining Inc., First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Glencore International AG, Sawyer said.
Baar, Switzerland-base Glencore, the world's largest commodity trader, is Xstrata's largest shareholder with a 34 percent stake.
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