Two news articles about extractives in Congo
FRENCHMAN DIES IN CONGOLOSE MINING TOWN
LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9, 2008 (AFP) - A French dealer of precious stones has died in a Congolese mining town after being detained for having invalid papers, a diplomatic source said Friday.
The man, in his 50s, was arrested on Wednesday by the Congolese authorities in Lubumbashi, the capital of the southeastern province of Katanga for overstaying his visa.
"He spent one night in the ANR (national information agency) buildings while the authorities tried to verify his identity as he did not have a passport with him," a diplomatic source in Lubumbashi said.
"He was visibly tired and became ill (around midday on Thursday). He was driven to a hospital where he died shortly after arrival at 1300 GMT," the source said.
A doctor at the hospital where the man was taken said he was already dead on arrival and had died during the transfer.
"He was suffering from diarrhoea and diabetes," said the doctor, adding that his body had been moved on Friday to the hospital morgue.
The Frenchman arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007, working for a Chinese mining firm, before moving on to trade with local Congolese dealers and eventually branching out on his own.
"He had complained that he had no more money and that his visa expired in September," the diplomatic source in Lubumbashi said on condition of anonymity.
Foreigners, most of them of Chinese or Indian origin, are regularly arrested in Katanga and expelled for having illegal status. Many people are thought to work illegally in the Democratic Republic of Congo's booming mining industry.
Katanga has a vast wealth of copper and cobalt reserves, as well as a substantial number of gold and uranium mines.
Hundreds of mining firms and businesses operate there, from international giants like US company Freeport-McMoRan to dealers trying to make a quick buck from small-time miners.
Congo outlines $9bn China deal
By William Wallis, Africa Editor
Published: May 9 2008 18:09 | Last updated: May 9 2008 18:09
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has unveiled details of a controversial $9.25bn agreement that pledges millions of tonnes of copper and cobalt to China in exchange for roads, railways and other infrastructure.
The deal, finalised last month, could prove one of Beijing’s most ambitious forays into Africa yet. On paper it secures 10.62m tonnes of copper and 620,000 tonnes of cobalt for resource-hungry Chinese industries, but this is dependent on overcoming operational challenges that are as great as anywhere in Africa.
The deal comes at an uncertain cost to Congo, a country the size of western Europe that has been left, after decades of dictatorship, conflict and political turmoil, with less than 5,000km of tarred roads.
Like many of Beijing’s big state-backed projects in Africa, this one pits a Chinese commercial model for engagement with the continent against the bureaucracy of western development assistance.
The Congo government was at a delicate stage in negotiations to secure a write-off of around $8bn of external debt when news broke last year of its plans to enter a barter agreement with Beijing.
Officials from multilateral lending institutions have been tight-lipped about the consequences but warn privately that, should the deal result in the state contracting fresh debt, it could scupper the write-off.
Benedicte Christensen, director of the International Monetary Fund’s African Department, said last month the agreement posed a “dilemma”.
Pierre Lumbi, Congo’s infrastructure minister, outlined to parliament details of what the country stands to gain, listing hundreds of clinics, hospitals and schools, two hydro-electric dams, 3,300km of road and 3,000km of railway.
Major routes, to be constructed by Chinese companies, would link the mineral- rich south of the country to its ports in the west and connect the north to the south. Mr Lumbi argued that the provision of this infrastructure would consolidate reunification of the country and bring down prices for basic goods. “This contract is the foundation on which the growth of our economy is going to be built,” he said, comparing it to the Marshall plan to reconstruct Europe after the second world war.
The agreement sets out the basis of a joint venture between the state copper company Gecamines, with a 32 per cent stake, and a group of Chinese companies including Sinohydro and China Railway Group, which would have 68 per cent.
One prominent Congolese businessman projected a more than $30bn profit for the Chinese at Friday’s copper and cobalt prices. He said that because there was no tender process or quality assessment, there was no telling whether the projects were fairly priced.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
LUBUMBASHI, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9, 2008 (AFP) - A French dealer of precious stones has died in a Congolese mining town after being detained for having invalid papers, a diplomatic source said Friday.
The man, in his 50s, was arrested on Wednesday by the Congolese authorities in Lubumbashi, the capital of the southeastern province of Katanga for overstaying his visa.
"He spent one night in the ANR (national information agency) buildings while the authorities tried to verify his identity as he did not have a passport with him," a diplomatic source in Lubumbashi said.
"He was visibly tired and became ill (around midday on Thursday). He was driven to a hospital where he died shortly after arrival at 1300 GMT," the source said.
A doctor at the hospital where the man was taken said he was already dead on arrival and had died during the transfer.
"He was suffering from diarrhoea and diabetes," said the doctor, adding that his body had been moved on Friday to the hospital morgue.
The Frenchman arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2007, working for a Chinese mining firm, before moving on to trade with local Congolese dealers and eventually branching out on his own.
"He had complained that he had no more money and that his visa expired in September," the diplomatic source in Lubumbashi said on condition of anonymity.
Foreigners, most of them of Chinese or Indian origin, are regularly arrested in Katanga and expelled for having illegal status. Many people are thought to work illegally in the Democratic Republic of Congo's booming mining industry.
Katanga has a vast wealth of copper and cobalt reserves, as well as a substantial number of gold and uranium mines.
Hundreds of mining firms and businesses operate there, from international giants like US company Freeport-McMoRan to dealers trying to make a quick buck from small-time miners.
Congo outlines $9bn China deal
By William Wallis, Africa Editor
Published: May 9 2008 18:09 | Last updated: May 9 2008 18:09
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has unveiled details of a controversial $9.25bn agreement that pledges millions of tonnes of copper and cobalt to China in exchange for roads, railways and other infrastructure.
The deal, finalised last month, could prove one of Beijing’s most ambitious forays into Africa yet. On paper it secures 10.62m tonnes of copper and 620,000 tonnes of cobalt for resource-hungry Chinese industries, but this is dependent on overcoming operational challenges that are as great as anywhere in Africa.
The deal comes at an uncertain cost to Congo, a country the size of western Europe that has been left, after decades of dictatorship, conflict and political turmoil, with less than 5,000km of tarred roads.
Like many of Beijing’s big state-backed projects in Africa, this one pits a Chinese commercial model for engagement with the continent against the bureaucracy of western development assistance.
The Congo government was at a delicate stage in negotiations to secure a write-off of around $8bn of external debt when news broke last year of its plans to enter a barter agreement with Beijing.
Officials from multilateral lending institutions have been tight-lipped about the consequences but warn privately that, should the deal result in the state contracting fresh debt, it could scupper the write-off.
Benedicte Christensen, director of the International Monetary Fund’s African Department, said last month the agreement posed a “dilemma”.
Pierre Lumbi, Congo’s infrastructure minister, outlined to parliament details of what the country stands to gain, listing hundreds of clinics, hospitals and schools, two hydro-electric dams, 3,300km of road and 3,000km of railway.
Major routes, to be constructed by Chinese companies, would link the mineral- rich south of the country to its ports in the west and connect the north to the south. Mr Lumbi argued that the provision of this infrastructure would consolidate reunification of the country and bring down prices for basic goods. “This contract is the foundation on which the growth of our economy is going to be built,” he said, comparing it to the Marshall plan to reconstruct Europe after the second world war.
The agreement sets out the basis of a joint venture between the state copper company Gecamines, with a 32 per cent stake, and a group of Chinese companies including Sinohydro and China Railway Group, which would have 68 per cent.
One prominent Congolese businessman projected a more than $30bn profit for the Chinese at Friday’s copper and cobalt prices. He said that because there was no tender process or quality assessment, there was no telling whether the projects were fairly priced.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008