Charlotte Mathews
9 November 2007
Johannesburg — MINERALS explorer Chrometco's decision to suspend activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo was a temporary measure, and did not reflect concern about the validity of its mining rights, CE Stuart Simons said yesterday.
The company issued a cautionary notice saying it had suspended all its Congolese operations and was in talks on a mining project in SA.
News agencies reported at the weekend that the Congolese government's review of mining licences had recommended cancelling or renegotiating 61 licences.
The government has said since the report was only a preliminary one and its recommendations had not been adopted.
The Congolese government has been reviewing terms of licences granted during the 1998-2003 war and three-year transitional government period, after a United Nations report of looting of Congolese minerals. Mining licences granted after the first democratic election in July last year have not been reviewed.
Chrometco said last month its main focus would be exploring in the Congo, where it held rights to five concessions, with joint venture partners, for copper, cobalt and tin.
Simons said Chrometco was not leaving the Congo. The main reason for suspending activities temporarily was the rainy season. A secondary reason was that the Congolese government's minerals department was preoccupied with the mining licence review, and it was difficult to gain the attention of the right people to advance these projects.
All of Chrometco's licences over exploration properties in the Congo had been granted since June last year, he said.
Chrometco's share price rose 4c, or 8%, to 54c after it published its cautionary notice.
At the interim stage, Chrometco held R17,8m in cash. Since then it has agreed to sell its Rooderand chrome property in SA for R60m, and raised R22,4m in capital.
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