Chinese firm’s hopes of resolving royalties row at massive DR Congo copper and cobalt mine hits political hurdle
- Chinese mining company denies that court-appointed administrator has taken control of operation
- African country’s PM halted proceedings against the mining firm but justice minister has resumed them

Political interference is delaying resolution of a royalties row between Gecamines, a state-owned miner in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Chinese mining company China Molybdenum, who are partners in a massive copper and cobalt mine in the African country, an observer said.
Gecamines, which holds 20 per cent of the Tenke Fungurume mine, said earlier this month that a third-party administrator had temporarily taken over management of the mine, which is at the centre of a dispute over royalties.
However, China Molybdenum (CMOC) said there had been “no change” in control of its DRC subsidiary, Tenke Fungurume Mining.
Reuters reported on June 9 that court-appointed administrator Sage Ngoie Mbayo had taken over management of the mine, just over two months after DRC Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde promised to halt court proceedings against the Chinese company in the royalties dispute.
The francophone editor at the China-Africa Project, Christian-Geraud Neema, who is also a Congolese mining and policy analyst, said the situation has a lot to do with political interference.
“If the administrator takes his role, it will be a major setback for CMOC, which received guarantees from the prime minister that the judicial procedures won’t go further,” Neema said, adding that when those guarantees were given, Lukonde, a former director general of Gecamines, instructed members of his cabinet to handle the case.