Kingamyambo Musonoi Tailings SARL

completed

This SPI has been revised in order to reflect a slight change in the wording related to the process of categorization of any potential future investment in this project to ensure consistency with IFC procedures.The project is to prepare a definitive feasibility study (DFS), including marketing, technical, and environmental and social impact studies, for the re-treatment of processed oxide tailings from the Kolwezi concentrator, located in Katanga province, which began operations in the early 1950’s. Owing to the poor recovery rates obtained at the time, valuable amounts of copper and cobalt were discharged in the form of tailings. The tailings reserve consists of 112 million tonnes grading 1.49% copper and 0.32% cobalt. Preliminary technical studies indicate that a leaching and solvent extraction plant costing about US$300 million could produce 30,000 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) of copper and 5,500 tpa of cobalt, although technical, marketing, and financing factors, to be considered during the DFS, may dictate a staged development. The project company is Kingamyambo Musonoi Tailings SARL (“KMT”), a Congolese company which has been created for the purpose of exploiting the tailings.