Kinsevere

Kinsevere
Location
Kinsevere is located in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kinsevere
Kinsevere
ProvinceHaut-Katanga Province
CountryDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates11°21′48″S 27°33′50″E / 11.363461°S 27.564011°E / -11.363461; 27.564011
Production
ProductsCopper
Production36,000 tonnes
Financial year2011
Owner
CompanyMMG Limited
Websitewww.mmg.com/our-business/kinsevere/
Year of acquisition2012

Kinsevere is an open pit mine and Heavy Media Separation plant with an electric arc furnace formerly operated by Anvil Mining, and now operated by Minerals and Metals Group. It is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Lubumbashi, Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.[1]

Kinsevere is in the Kipushi Territory in Katanga province. There are three deposits: Central Pit, Mashi and Kinsevere Hill. These are mostly stratiform deposits in alternating dolomitic and terrigenous formations. The dolomitic rocks that underlay the formations are excellent aquifers.[2]

History

Anvil Mining

The deposit was originally owned fully by Gécamines, the mine was leased out on a 25-year term to Moïse Katumbi's Mining Company Katanga (MCK). By June 2006, stage I development of the mine was being carried out by AMCK, a joint venture owned 70% by the Australia-based Anvil Mining, and 30% by Mining Company Katanga. Anvil then increased its interest in the venture to 95%.[3][4] The proceeds from the sale, along with nearby deposits, netted Katumbi $61.3 million, which he used to finance his successful American-style election campaign to the governorship of Katanga province in 2007.[5]

For the year of 2011, Anvil expected to produce between 36,000 and 38,000 tonnes of copper as copper cathodes and copper in concentrates. Anvil was completing construction of a $400 million SX-EW plant to extract the copper, and the Heavy Media Separation plant was scheduled to shut down at the end of June 2011.[6] After the upgrades, the mine is expected to produce about 60,000 tons of copper annually. Anvil is studying the potential for further increasing the rate of production.

Minmetal Resources

See also: Anvil Mining § Minmetal takeover

In September 2011, the Hong Kong-listed Minmetals Resources Ltd announced a $1.3 billion offer to by Anvil Mining, which was unanimously accepted by Anvil's board.[7][8][9] Gécamines claimed the acquisition triggered a review of the projects' lease, and threatening to block the deal. Minmetals extended the timeframe of its offer several times to allow time for the dispute to be resolved.[10][11] In February 2012, Gecamines dropped its opposition to the deal.[12] Minerals and Metals Group then announced a successful takeover bid for Anvil worth $1.3 billion, including a 95% stake in the Kinsevere mine.[13]

In March 2020, a court ordered some of the operations' assets to be frozen, due to a $258 million wrongful termination lawsuit from Mining Company Katanga, a mining services company associated with the former governor of Katanga Province, Moïse Katumbi.[14] A joint report released by the Congolese non-governmental organizations Humanisme et Droits Humains, JUSTICIA Asbl, and Ligue Congolaise de luttecontre la Corruption claimed that MMG was exerting pressure on the magistrates in order to sway the outcome of the court case in MMG's favor.[15] An article from the outlet Africa Intelligence claimed the non-governmental organizations responsible for the report were motivated by political support for Katumbi,[16] an allegation that the organizations strongly deny.[17]

In late 2020, MMG announced the mine would be transitioning from sulfide ore to oxide ore, halting mining October 1.[18] While no mining took place at Kinsevere in 2021, as of March 2022, MMG has announced a $600 million expansion of the mine aimed at producing 80,000 tons of copper cathode and 5,000 tons of cobalt hydroxide.[19][20]

References

  1. ^ "Kinsevere Stage II Copper Project" (PDF). Ausenco. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-01. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
  2. ^ "Kinsevere Copper Mine". Knight Piésold. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
  3. ^ "Anvil moves Kinsevere along". International Mining. 2006-06-27. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  4. ^ "Anvil Mining ups Kinsevere massively". International Mining. 2007-01-12. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  5. ^ Les Films de la Passerelle. "Moïse Katumbi: Foot, business & politique" (PDF) (in French). p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
  6. ^ "Kinsevere". Anvil Mining. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
  7. ^ Michael Allen McCrae (2011-09-30). "Minmetal Resources offers $1.3 billion for Anvil Mining". MINING.COM. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  8. ^ "China's Minmetals to acquire Anvil Mining for $1.3 billion". Proactiveinvestors NA. 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  9. ^ Esmarie Swanepoel (7 October 2011). "Anvil reports fatality at DRC Kinsevere project". Mining Weekly. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
  10. ^ "UPDATE 1-Minmetals extends Anvil offer to resolve Congo dispute". Reuters. 2011-11-23. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  11. ^ "Deadline extended on Minmetals' offer to buy Anvil". thestar.com. 2012-01-09. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  12. ^ Liezel Hill (2012-02-10). "Anvil Reaches Deal with Congo's Gecamines on Minmetals Takeover". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  13. ^ "Minmetals Resources Successfully Acquired Anvil". MMG web site. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
  14. ^ "Mining Company Katanga sues China MMG's Kinsevere mine in Congo". Reuters. 2020-03-23. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  15. ^ "DRC Investigation Reveal External Influence Being Exerted On Judges To Favour MMG Kinsevere In Dispute With MCK". Zambian Digest. 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  16. ^ "DRC : Moïse Katumbi gets NGO backing in his mining disputes - 16/07/2020". Africa Intelligence. 2020-07-16. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  17. ^ Digest, Zambian (2020-07-30). "DRC NGOs Denounce African Intelligence; Demand Apology For False Reports Linking Them To Katumbi". Zambian Digest. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  18. ^ "MMG's Congo mine pauses production to switch from sulphide to oxide ore". MINING.COM. 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  19. ^ Webb, Mariaan (2022-03-24). "MMG commits to $600m DRC cobalt expansion". Mining Weekly. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  20. ^ Max Schwerdtfeger (2022-03-25). "MMG to extend Kinsevere copper mine". Mining Magazine. Retrieved 2022-07-30.