News from our newspaperOn December 13, it was reported that China Molybdenum Corporation said on Sunday that it had acquired a 95% stake in Congo's Kishan Rich Copper and Cobalt Mine (Kisanfu) from Freeport McMoran Copper and Cobalt Company (Freeport-McMoRan Inc.) for US $0.55 billion.
-- The Kishan rich copper-cobalt mine is located 33 kilometers southwest of the Tenke Fungurume mine in China's molybdenum mine, as shown in the figure. (Image courtesy of Freeport McMoran Copper & Gold).
As early as 2016, China Molybdenum had already discussed the acquisition of the undeveloped Kishan Fu project and the increase of the company's resource reserves in Congo. Congo is the world's largest producer of cobalt, the metal used in batteries, and China Molybdenum already operates the Tenke Fungurume mine in the country.
Documents submitted by China Molybdenum to the Shanghai Stock Exchange show that the acquisition was made by Natural Resources Elite Investment Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Molybdenum, which was approved by the company's investment committee on December 1 and completed on Friday, US time.
The Kisanfu mine, located about 33km southwest of the Tenke Fungurume mine, holds an estimated 6.28 million tonnes of copper and 3.1 million tonnes of cobalt metal, the paper said. The document also mentions how China Molybdenum is working with the mine and other operations in Congo.
The government of Congo holds another 5 percent of the mine.
In 2016, China Molybdenum acquired a 56% stake in Tenke Fungurume from Freeport, which was seeking to cut its debt. At the same time, China Molybdenum was also involved in negotiations to acquire a stake in Kisanfu mine owned by Tenke Fungurume, which ended the following year.
In 2019, China Molybdenum increased its stake in Tenke Fungurume to 80%.
Website Editor: Gong Li
