[miningmx.com] – A COPPER mining joint venture between two Chinese companies and the Democratic Republic of Congo has produced its first metal, said Reuters citing the African country’s mines ministry.
Sicomines, a proposed 125,000 tonnes a year copper mine in the Congo’s southeast region, is 68%-owned by Sinohydro Corporation and China Railway Group which have pledged to build $3bn worth of roads, railways and other infrastructure in return.
China’s state-run Exim Bank is providing most of the financing for the copper mine, which is one of the largest in the world, said Reuters.
However, progress on the project has been repeatedly delayed. Exim Bank temporarily halted disbursements in 2012 and workers had to pump 160 million cubic metres of water from two pits.
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