Katanga Mining Ltd - a company listed on the TSX Toronto Stock exchange - are rehabilitating a major copper-cobalt mine at Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Production at the long-lived, high-grade Kamoto Mine will begin in late 2007. Once fully operational, it will produce 150,000 tonnes of copper and 5,000 tonnes of cobalt a year at one of the world’s lowest operating costs. 
See cumulative cost curve.
See history of the project.
The area under consideration (the “Property”) is located in the southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”), within the province of Katanga (formerly Shaba) and the district of Kolwezi. See wikipedia on this. The Property consists of the underground workings at the original Kamoto Mine (including the Kamoto Principal and Etang areas) as well as three variously flooded open pit mine areas; Dikuluwe, Mashamba East and Mashamba West (collectively known as the DIMA pits), and the dry
Musonoie-T17 West area. The Property is made up of two separate land packages
for a total concession area of 15,235 hectares.
The physical facilities include the Kamoto Concentrator and Luilu metallurgical plant, related shops, warehouses, railroads and power lines. The Property is situated about 220 kilometres northnortheast of Lubumbashi, the capital of the Katanga Province, and between 2 and 10 kilometres from the nearest town of Kolwezi and forms part of La Générale des Carrières et des Mines (Gécamines) Group West area in this region.
See map of installations transferred form GCM to the JV KCC.
and
See interactive map of installations
The Property is covered by Mining Permit no 525 which has been granted to Gécamines by a Ministerial Arreté no 1024/CAB.MIN/MINES/01/2006 dated February 17, 2006. With the Mining Permit, a Mining Certificate no CAMI/CC/2083/2006 was approved, signed and delivered by the “Cadastre Minier” General Manager. This Mining Certificate gives Gécamines the exclusive rights to operate on all the surface of Mining Permit no 525. Gécamines and the Kamoto Copper Company have signed a Leasing Contract (Contrat d’Amodiation) dated November 4, 2005 regarding Mining Permit no 525, within which Gécamines leases all its rights to operate, exclusively to the Kamoto Copper Company. The “Cadastre Minier” has approved and authenticated the Leasing Contract (Contrat d’Amodiation) by registration on February 20, 2006. Mining Permit no 4958 has been granted for the 4 carrés that comprise the area around the Musonoie-T17 pit. Gécamines remains the sole title holder and owner of the mines and the tailings, free of encumbrances towards third parties. The concessions confer to Kamoto Copper Company the sole and exclusive right to mine.
Mis en ligne le 25 janvier 2007 par Pierre Ratcliffe Contact: (pratclif@free.fr) site web: http://pratclif.free.fr