DRC will approve disputed mining code, but miners say there will be ‘further discussions’
Kinshasa — Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila will sign off on changes to the country’s mining code but left the door open to further talks after a lengthy meeting with senior industry executives who oppose the legal reform. Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg, Randgold Resources’ Mark Bristow and other top officials met Kabila for five hours on Wednesday in the capital, Kinshasa, to discuss the new rules. The changes will raise taxes and other costs for operators in the DRC, which is Africa’s top copper producer and the world’s main source of cobalt, a critical ingredient in rechargeable batteries. While the companies failed to persuade Kabila not to sign the law, "the president did promise to continue further discussions with us," Jerry Jiao, CEO of miner MMG, said on Thursday. MMG’s head of operations for Africa, Australia and Asia attended the meeting, he said. Government officials said they would be open to discussing a 10-year stability agreement, which "is ve...
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