By Nicholas Bariyo
Special to DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The Congolese government said Thursday that it would delay the
implementation of a ban on exports of unprocessed copper and cobalt
concentrates until the end of the year to allow companies enough
time to put in place processing facilities and complete the export
of current stockpiles, the information ministry said Thursday.
The announcement was made just days before the expiry of a
moratorium issued earlier this year, relieving mine investors in
Africa's second largest copper miner, who have been struggling to
clear huge mineral stockpiles amid low global copper prices.
"The companies now have up to Dec. 31 [2013] to clear
stockpiles," a spokeswoman at the information ministry told Dow
Jones Newswires.
The Congolese government announced the ban in May in a bid to
encourage investments in local processing facilities to add value
to mineral exports. Refined products would allow the central
African nation to fetch higher export revenue, rather than letting
mining companies export copper concentrates abroad for processing,
according to government officials. But mining companies objected to
the ban, saying the country lacks adequate processing facilities as
well as enough electricity to power large-scale mineral processing
facilities.
Congo, Africa's second largest copper producer, is expected to
produce 800,000 metric tons of copper this year, which would bring
it to a par with Zambia, the current top producer. Last year, Congo
exported at least 600,000 tons of copper. Companies such as
Glencore Xstrata PLC (GLEN.LN), U.S. miner Freeport-McMoRan Copper
& Gold Inc. (FCX) and Lundin Mining Corp. (LUN.T) are among
companies that have pumped billions of dollars into Congo's copper
mining sector in recent years, helping to turn around the once
ailing sector. Congo's annual copper output is projected to hit at
least 1 million tons by 2014-15 as more projects come on board.
Write to Nicholas Bariyo at nicholas.bariyo@dowjones.com
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