Just look at What Tenke in Congo..impressiveCongo Copper and Cobalt Grades are amazing. Truly Globally Unique.. Companies like tenke Mining are giving the industry confidence to follow in their footsteps. An article published a few weeks ago attests to this. In fac it was written about the same time the REPORT on Simberi was put out
'Congo is open for business'
Project is blessed with rich ore grades, low operating costs
Paul Luke, The Province
Published: Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Almost everything is big about the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt project in Africa co-owned by Vancouver-based Tenke Mining.
An independent feasibility study released yesterday foresees a capital cost of $650 million US for the proposed mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The study, which details the costs, scope and mineral wealth of the project, is a milestone for Tenke Mining and the Congolese mining industry, Tenke president Paul Conibear said in an interview.
"This will instill a lot of confidence in our investors and in investors in other projects in the country," Conibear said.
Tenke Fungurume will be the first investment of this size in the Congo in three decades and will be the country's largest taxpayer, generating more than $100 million a year in taxes and royalties, he said.
Annual production from the open pit in the savannah of southern Congo will initially be 115,000 tonnes of copper cathode and 8,000 tonnes of cobalt after start-up in 2008, according to the study. That makes the copper mine one of the largest in the world -- and it will get even larger. Annual copper production should swell to about 400,000 tonnes six to 10 years after launch, Conibear said.
Construction is already under way at the site in southern Congo's rolling brushlands, Conibear said. The mine will employ 2,000 people during construction and about 1,000 during the first phase of operations.
Mine life is estimated at 40 years.
Phoenix-based Phelps Dodge owns 57.8 per cent of the project, Tenke Mining 24.8 per cent and Congo's government 17.5 per cent.
Tenke Mining, founded by the Lundin family of Vancouver and Switzerland, acquired the property in 1996.
The project is blessed with rich ore grades and low operating costs, the study shows.
In its first 10 years, the mine would see 25.5 million tonnes of ore processed,
grading 4.57 per cent copper and 0.37 per cent cobalt.
By comparison, grades of copper processed at large mines in areas such as Arizona or Chile may range between 0.2 per cent and one per cent, Conibear said.
Tenke Fungurume's base-metal riches played a key role in triggering Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold's $28.9-billion US bid for Phelps Dodge last year.
Shareholders of each company are to vote March 14 on the proposed takeover.
pluke@png.canwest.com
https://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/money/story.html?id=a14d724a-45f1-4a5a-8b99-901769544b64