Glencore to acquire copper mine in DRC

Glencore to acquire copper mine in DRC
Written by Nchima Nchito
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 5:03:10 AM

SWISS mining giant Glencore International AG, Mopani Copper Mine’s holding company, is in the process of acquiring a controlling stake in the biggest underground copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to the Mining Review, this would involve the company providing a US $26 million loan that would keep current owner Katanga Mining Limited afloat.

The loan would result in Glencore acquiring 953 million shares which would give the company a stake of as much as 88 per cent.

Glencore – which owns mines and smelters across five continents – would gain majority stakes in mines that can produce more than 300,000 metric tonnes of copper and 30,000 tonnes of cobalt a year.

Katanga’s assets in the southern DRC include mines and a processing plant. The addition of the underground Kamoto mine and the open-pit KOV mine would raise Glencore’s copper-mining capacity by 77 per cent.