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Who is behind China Molybdenum in the Democratic Republic of Congo?

by Christian Geraud Neema Byamungu
Aerial view of the Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the country's largest cobalt and copper mines that is now at the center of a bitter dispute among its owners.

Who exactly is controlling the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Tenke Fungurume Mine (TFM), one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in the world, remains a mystery. Officially, the Chinese mining giant China Molybdenum (CMOC) is in a partnership with the DRC’s state-owned mining company Gécamines to run the mine. But now officials from Gécamines, visibly exasperated by what they see as CMOC’s obstructionist attitude, are planning to dissolve the management partnership. This raises questions about the future management of TFM, an issue that could have ramifications far beyond the DRC.

The possible end of the Gécamines-CMOC partnership was recently reported by Bloomberg. The report quoted the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director of Gécamines who did not appreciate the umpteenth boycott of a TFM shareholders’ meeting by CMOC leaders last Thursday.

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