Tenke Fungurume
Encyclopedia
The Tenke Fungurume Mine holds one of the world's largest known copper and cobalt resources. The deposits are located within two concessions totaling over 1500 square kilometres (579.2 sq mi) in the Katanga Province
of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
, the Lundin Mining Corporation
and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, through Gecamines
.
As of September 2009 Freeport-McMoRan operated the mine and held 58.8%, Lundin held 24.8% and Gécamines (La Générale des Carrières et des Mines) held the reamining 17.5%.
The contract had yet to be reviewed by the government under a "revisitation" process started earlier that year.
Tenke Fungurume is the largest copper mine in the DRC.
The first phase at the mine cost US$1.8bn to build.
In the third quarter of 2009 the cobalt plant and the sulphuric acid plant were commissioned.
It is expected that the operation will produce 250000000 pounds (113,398,092.5 kg) of copper metal and 18000000 pounds (8,164,662.7 kg) of cobalt annually.
Katanga Province
Katanga Province is one of the provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Between 1971 and 1997, its official name was Shaba Province. Under the new constitution, the province was to be replaced by four smaller provinces by February 2009; this did not actually take place.Katanga's regional...
of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Ownership
The mining project is a partnership led by Freeport-McMoran Copper and GoldFreeport-McMoRan
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., often called simply Freeport, is the world's lowest-cost copper producer and one of the world's largest producers of gold...
, the Lundin Mining Corporation
Lundin Mining
Lundin Mining is a multinational minerals company with operations in Sweden, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Russia. Lundin Mining is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange as part of the S&P/TSX 60 index...
and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, through Gecamines
Gécamines
Gécamines, or La Générale des Carrières et des Mines, is a state-owned mining company in the Democratic Republic of Congo . Its principal products are copper , cobalt and zinc...
.
As of September 2009 Freeport-McMoRan operated the mine and held 58.8%, Lundin held 24.8% and Gécamines (La Générale des Carrières et des Mines) held the reamining 17.5%.
The contract had yet to be reviewed by the government under a "revisitation" process started earlier that year.
Tenke Fungurume is the largest copper mine in the DRC.
The first phase at the mine cost US$1.8bn to build.
Operations
The first copper cathode was produced in March 2009, and the plant was working at planned capacity by September 2009.In the third quarter of 2009 the cobalt plant and the sulphuric acid plant were commissioned.
It is expected that the operation will produce 250000000 pounds (113,398,092.5 kg) of copper metal and 18000000 pounds (8,164,662.7 kg) of cobalt annually.