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Congo's Katanga governor reassures mine investors
Wed 14 Nov 2007, 13:12 GMT

[-] Text [+] JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The governor of Congo's mineral-rich Katanga province has reassured investors that they are welcome despite a leaked report from a government-appointed commission that said many mining licences should be cancelled.

"I would like to reiterate that responsible mining companies which have invested in Katanga or are about to invest are very welcome in my province," Governor Moise Katumbi said in a letter dated November 13.

"I encourage the mining companies to continue their investment progammes in spite of rumours of a non-official document by the Commission reviewing the mining contracts."

The letter was distributed on Wednesday by South African mining group African Rainbow Minerals, which said Katumbi wanted the letter made public following a meeting with ARM's Chief Executive Andre Wilkens on Tuesday.

The letter follows a similar statement seeking to restore confidence by the mines minister on November 6, who said most mining companies operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo would remain in the long term.

The government set up a mining commission earlier this year in the vast former Belgian colony to bring contracts, most of which were negotiated during a 1998-2003 war and a subsequent three-year transition period, up to international standards.

A leaked preliminary report seen by Reuters earlier this month said the panel recommended that 61 contracts needed to be renegotiated or cancelled in the DRC, which holds a tenth of the world's copper reserves and a third of its cobalt.

The contracts being reviewed included deals with international firms such as Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, BHP Billiton and Nikanor.

Katumbi said that over the past two years, more than $2 billion has been raised on international stock markets for development of mining projects in the DRC.

"The current investment momentum in the province has taken several years to develop and I want to ensure that it continues to develop in a positive manner."