FYI, from Rep of Congo Government.
Relevant snippet translation below.
MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF MONDAY JANUARY 17, 2022Monday, January 17, 2022 - 9:34 p.m.
The Council of Ministers met this Monday, January 17, 2022 by videoconference and under the very high authority of His Excellency, Mr. Denis SASSOU N'GUESSO, President of the Republic, Head of State.
Eight (8) cases were on its agenda, namely:
Three (3) bills and one (1) draft decree under the Ministry of Mining Industries and Geology;
One (1) organic bill under the Ministry of Communication and Media;
One (1) draft decree under the Ministry of Forest Economy;
One (1) draft decree under the Ministry of Health and Population;
Appointments to the respective titles of the Ministry of Economy, Planning, Statistics and Regional Integration and the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Handicrafts and the Informal Sector.
I/- Ministry of Mining Industries and Geology.
Three (3) bills approving mining conventions.
Invited by the President of the Republic to speak, Mr. Pierre OBA, Minister of State, Minister of Mining Industries and Geology, presented to the Members of the Council of Ministers three (3) bills approving three (3) mining agreements for iron deposits in the Sangha department, between the Republic of Congo and the companies SANGHA Mining Dévelopment Sasu and
BESTWAY Finance Limited for the “NABEBA”, “AVIMA” and “BADONDO” permits , acts signed on March 13, 2021 by the Ministers in charge of mining, finance and transport.
The three (3) bills approving mining conventions follow the granting of mining permits for the iron deposits of NABEBA (386 km2 in area), AVIMA and BADONDO (998 kms of area each) by decrees taken in the Council of Ministers on November 30, 2020.
These iron mining permits must, in accordance with the contractual provisions, be submitted for the approval of Parliament.
These exploitation projects are of considerable importance because these sites have enormous exploitable potential, probably for at least 50 years, which would have positive consequences for the socio-economic development of our country.
They first induce the construction of a railway from north to south of the Congo, with a length of about 1000 km; the construction of a steelworks at Pointe Noire as well as a large ore port at Indian Point. These infrastructures will involve the creation of hundreds of jobs and the development of the localities concerned in the department of Sangha. Our country's ambition is, thanks to these deposits and if their promises are kept, to become one of the three largest iron producers in the world.
The consortium formed by the company SANGHA Development Mining and its partners intends to begin the development of these mines during this year and intends to invest more than 10 billion dollars, or approximately 5,400 billion CFA francs, for an annual production perspective of 10 million tonnes of iron from the year 2023, the mining sector then bringing invaluable added value to our national economy and contributing to development.
SEM. Denis SASSOU N'GUESSO, President of the Republic, Head of State, welcomed the integrative and modular nature of the mining projects induced by the adoption of these three bills. Modular projects , because they include, in addition to the development of the operating sites themselves: the construction of a railway line between the department of Sangha and that of Pointe-Noire and the disposal of the products thus transported to the future ore port of Pointe-Noire; integrating and regional projects, insofar as they involve the neighboring and sister country of Cameroon.
Continuing his remarks, the Head of State stressed the importance of these projects, likely to accelerate the development of our country, thanks to a leverage effect on mining projects located in other departments of Congo or those particularly linked to the development of liquefied gas production in other areas of our country.
Finally, the President of the Republic underlined the happy coincidence between the approval of such a project by the Council of Ministers and the final adoption of the National Development Plan 2022-2026 by Parliament, which now allows the start of the effective implementation of the Government's program for the next few years.
After review and discussion, the Council of Ministers approved the three (3) bills respectively approving mining agreements for iron deposits in the department of Sangha between the Republic of Congo and the companies SANGHA Mining Development Sasu and
BESTWAY Finance Limited for the “NABEBA”, “AVIMA” and “BADONDO” permits. They will be sent to Parliament for consideration and adoption.
Translated source:
https://www-adiac--congo-com.translate.goog/content/compte-rendu-du-conseil-des-ministres-du-lundi-17-janvier-2022-134139?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB&_x_tr_pto=wapp
