Deziwa mine

Deziwa mineLocation

Deziwa mine

Province| Lualaba
Country| Democratic Republic of the Congo
Coordinates| 10°47′36″S 25°46′54″E﻿ / ﻿10.79345565555149°S 25.7816583969706°E﻿ / -10.79345565555149; 25.7816583969706Coordinates: 10°47′36″S 25°46′54″E﻿ / ﻿10.79345565555149°S 25.7816583969706°E﻿ / -10.79345565555149; 25.7816583969706
Production
Products| Copper
Cobalt
History
Opened| 2020
Owner
Company| China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group (51%)
Gécamines (49%)
Website| www.somidez.com

The Deziwa mine is a large open-pit copper and cobalt mine located about 35 km east of Kolwezi in Lualaba Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1] The mine is estimated to hold 4.6 million tonnes of copper and 420,000 tonnes of cobalt. The mine sits directly adjacent to the Mutanda Mine.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Copperbelt minerals
* 1.2 Gécamines
* 1.3 CNMC
* 2 References

## History[edit]

### Copperbelt minerals[edit]

An initial agreement was struck in 2005 between Gécamines and Platmin Congo (a subsidiary of Copperbelt Minerals) to explore Deziwa. The joint venture, Societe Minere de Deziwa et Ecaille C Sprl (Somidec) was owned 68% by Copperbelt minerals, and 32% by Gecamines.

In 2010, Zijin Mining made a $284 million bid to purchase the Deziwa and Ecaille C mines from Platmin Congo.[2] The bid was rejected by the Congelese government, who said the deal violated regulations.[3][4]

### Gécamines[edit]

In 2013, Gécamines purchased Copperbelt Minerals' 68% stake in Deziwa and Ecaille C.[5] The purchase was financed by a $196 million loan from Dan Gertler's Fleurette Group.[6]

### CNMC[edit]

In 2015, CNMC announced their intention to develop the site in the wake of China's Made in China 2025 policy.[7] Negotiations to develop the mine at Deziwa were taking place in 2016.[8] Construction started in May 2018, and the mine officially opened in January 2020.[9]

The mine is currently run by Société Miniere De Deziwa (Somidez), a joint venture between the China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group (51%) and Gécamines (49%). After a certain number of years, ownership of the mine is set to revert to Gécamines.

The $800 million deal to set up the mine has been criticized as opaque by the UK-based NGO Global Witness.[10] A 2021 report from the UK-based NGO RAID claimed regular violations of workers' rights at the mine.[11]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Congo launches Chinese-owned Deziwa copper, cobalt mine". Mining Weekly. 2020-01-15. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
2. ^ "Zijin Mining exec: Gold prices too high to last". MarketWatch. 2011-11-07. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
3. ^ "Congo Won't Approve Zijin, CAD FUnd's Bid for Platmin". Bloomberg. 2010-05-09. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
4. ^ "Zijin says China, Congo will probably approve deal". China Daily Website. 2010-05-12. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
5. ^ "Congo's Gecamines aims to build 200,000 T copper plant". Reuters. 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
6. ^ Jones, Peter (2014-04-30). "Gertler group loaned Congo's Gecamine $196 mln for mine buyout". Reuters via Yahoo News. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
7. ^ Dionne Searcey, Michael Forsythe, Eric Lipton (2021-11-20). "A Power Struggle Over Cobalt Rattles the Clean Energy Revolution". New York Times. Retrieved 2022-09-20.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. ^ Thomas Wilson (2016-08-15). "Congo Copper Deal With China May Draw $2 Billion of Investment". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
9. ^ Bujakera, Stanis (2020-01-15). "Congo opens Chinese-owned Deziwa copper and cobalt mine". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
10. ^ Thomas Wilson (2016-05-03). "Congo Urged to Publish Details of Mining Deals". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
11. ^ Stone, Maddie (2022-02-15). "The harsh realities of mining cobalt for EV batteries". The Verge. Retrieved 2022-09-21.