The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mines Ministry said it’s completing work on new regulations, as a draft document showed the government has so far ignored companies’ key concerns about the reforms.
Miners including Glencore Plc and Randgold Resources Ltd. have demanded the government dial back aspects of the legislation approved by President Joseph Kabila in March.
The ministry makes no mention of any of the major changes the companies seek, according to a draft document seen by Bloomberg that was verified by a member of a commission charged with revising the mining code and by a mining-company manager.
The document was circulated to mining companies on May 3. “We are in the process of working so that there is a draft which much be examined by government,” Valery Mukasa, chief of staff to Mines Minister Martin Kabwelulu, said fro the capital, Kinshasa.
“We are first finishing the work and at that moment we will communicate on the whole text” Miners argue the new code will drive investors away because it breaches titleholders’ rights, increases royalty payments on copper, cobalt and gold and introduces new taxes.
For the rest of this article: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-09/congo-finalizing-mining-rules-after-company-concerns-ignored