Country: Democratic Republic of Congo

On Monday this week, DP World and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have signed the Collaboration Agreement for the development of the Banana deep-sea port. The agreement was signed in the presence of President Tshisekedi and follows the sgning of a term sheet earlier this year with DP World. The project has been in the making since 2018 when the initial contract was signed. The Collaboration Agreement signed this week paves the way for a groundbreaking on the project within a year. “DP World will develop an initial 600-meter quay with an 18m draft, capable of handling the largest vessels in operation. It will have a container handling capacity of about 450 000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) per year, and a 30-hectare yard to store containers,” DP World said.

AVZ Minerals has announced this morning the signing of a transaction implementation agreement (TIA) with Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies of China. Under the agreement, CATH will earn a 24% equity interest in the joint-venture set up to develop the Manono Lithium and Tin Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In return, CATH is to contribute $240m in cash towards the development of the project. “Proceeds from the transaction will fund a majority of the total project financing required, whilst AVZ will retain a controlling 51% interest in the Manono Project post-completion of the transaction and its position as lead developer of the Manono Project,” AVZ said in a statement this morning. In addition, the existing Offtake Agreement with Yibin Tianyi will be assigned to CATH and expanded in scope to provide offtake of SC6 for the life of the Manono Project. CATH will also enter into a long-term Primary Lithium Sulphate offtake or tolling agreement in respect of PLS produced from the PLS calcining plant. The Manono project is one of the largest upcoming mining development in the DRC, with a Roche Dure Mineral Resource of 401m tonnes grading 1.65% Li2O, 752ppm Sn, 34ppm Ta is world-class in scale and grade. It is strategically positioned as a clean and sustainable source of lithium for the global EV battery value-chain.