Congo, Chinese Miner Agree on Royalties, Freeing Up More Than $1 Billion in Battery Metals

By Yusuf Khan

Chinese mining giant CMOC Group Co. and Congo have come to an agreement on mining royalties, resolving a monthslong dispute between the two parties that had blocked the passage of more than $1 billion worth of battery metals to global markets.

In a filing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, CMOC said it and La Generale des Carrieres et des Mines--the Congo state mining company also known as Gecamines--had reached consensus on the issue of mining royalties at the Tenke Fungurume Mine in the south of the country, operated by CMOC and home to one of the largest copper-cobalt deposits in the world.

As a result, thousands of tons of cobalt and copper that had been blocked by Gecamines from leaving Congo will now be available to be shipped.

CMOC had chosen to continue mining during the dispute, meaning some 12,000 metric tons of cobalt and 120,000 tons of copper were being held, according to people familiar with the matter--equivalent to $1.2 billion, based on prices assessed by Argus Media and the London Metal Exchange.

CMOC described the agreement as "win-win," taking both long and short term interests of both parties and the project.

"The smooth progress of the project will further release the production capacity of TFM copper-cobalt mine, which is conducive to further improving the Company's profitability," CMOC said. CMOC's stock rose 10% following the announcement.

Gecamines declined to comment on the matter.

Write to Yusuf Khan at yusuf.khan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2023 09:03 ET (13:03 GMT)

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