According to majority owner China Molybdenum, there has been no change in management of Tenke Fungurume Mining, despite claims by authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that a temporary administrator had assumed control of one of the world’s largest cobalt and copper mines.
A court-appointed temporary administrator has officially assumed command of TFM shareholders, according to the secretary-general of Congo’s state mining corporation Gecamines, who told Reuters on Thursday.
China Moly holds 80% of the copper and cobalt mine, with Gecamines owning the remaining 20%.
In an email to Reuters, China Molybdenum spokeswoman Vincent Zhou stated, “There is no change in the management right of TFM, and production and operations are functioning as usual.”
The DRC is also Africa’s premier copper miner and the world’s top producer of cobalt, which is used in electric batteries.
In February, a court appointed Sage Ngoie Mbayo as administrator for a six-month period in response to a claim filed by Gecamines.
Following a request for an investigation by the DRC government, the judgement was put on hold. Justice Minister Ruth Mutombo, however, directed that it be enforced in a letter dated June 1 that was seen by Reuters.
According to Gecamines secretary-general Patrice Pungwe, Ngoie, who had been named Gecamines’ representative to TFM shortly before his nomination as temporary administrator, officially assumed over on Thursday.
Ngoie announced that he was now in control in a video shot in TFM’s offices.
“At the moment, I’m in charge of TFM. He stated, “It is not run by Gecamines or CMOC (China Moly).”
The conflict began in August of last year, when the DRC government announced the formation of a commission to examine TFM’s reserves and resources. TFM is also one of the world’s major copper producers.
The government believes the mine lied about its reserves in order to decrease the amount of royalties it pays to Gecamines. China Molybdenum denies any wrongdoing.
Zhou said on Friday that talks about royalty payments are “continue to move forward” between China Moly and Gecamines.
Ngoie was charged in February with “reconciling the two partners on the points of divergence, particularly access to technical knowledge,” according to the court ruling.
According to China Moly, TFM produced 18,501 tonnes of cobalt and 209,120 tonnes of copper last year.
