Congo Resources

[Berliner]

Africo Looking at Listing on AIM
http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=28823

Website:
http://www.africoresources.com/

http://www.miningmx.com/mining_fin/602106.htm

Tony Harwood, CEO and president, Africo Resources

Africo seeks $160m for DRC mine
David McKay
Posted: Mon, 29 Jan 2007

[miningmx.com] -- AFRICO Resources, a Toronto Stock Exchange listed base metals exploration firm, would raise $160m in debt financing to develop its maiden project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said CEO and president, Tony Harwood.

“We’re in discussions with major lenders, groups in China and Japan, and institutions that were involved with our IPO,” said Harwood in an interview. “We should know in the next six months.”

If successfully concluded, Africo Resources will be among the first of several new mining companies, searching for mineable cobalt and copper in the DRC, to supply new metal to the market. Africo Resources’s project, called Kalukundi, contains an estimated 27 million tonnes of ore grading 2.5% copper and 0.7% cobalt. There is significant potential to expand the resource, said Harwood.

Production, planned for 2008, will be 3,800 tonnes of cobalt metal and 16,400 tonnes of copper. There is no requirement for smelting and refining facilities because Kalukundi is an oxide resource. This means metal can be produced on-site by means of SX/EW (solvent extraction and electrowinning) technology, Harwood said.

Harwood was formerly Placer Dome’s vice-president of generative exploration (projects) before the Canadian firm was bought by Barrick Gold. In addition to helping develop Placer Dome’s North Mara gold mine in Tanzania, Harwood was instrumental in Placer Dome’s decision to buy a 50% stake in the South Deep gold mine in 1998.

Commenting on Africo Resources, Harwood said the attraction of the company was the quality of potential resources in the DRC. “I haven’t seen anything like it for the large number and quality of deposits,” he said.

Kalukundi’s resources descend to about 200m, and can be mined relatively quickly; quicker than the neighbouring Tenke base metals project in the DRC’s Katanga copper belt.

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The $25bn US firm, Phelps Dodge, has a 58% stake in Tenke, with Tenke Mining Corp. and the DRC’s Gecamines, and aims to produce 8,200 tons of cobalt by late 2008 or early 2009. Tenke will cost $650m to develop. Another mining project, Nikanor’s KOV enterprise, has targeted output of 25,000 tons of cobalt by 2009 at a capital cost of $1.3bn.

“We have our mining license, a good relationship with Gecamines (which has a 25% free carry), and infrastructure in place,” said Harwood. Life of mine is estimated at 10 years.

Africo Resources listed in Toronto in December after receiving the backing of another listed junior, Rubicon Minerals.

Harwood says one of the competitive advantages of the company is its high quality management. Grant Pierce, formerly country manager for Barrick, recently joined the board. Peter Tomsett, Placer Dome’s last CEO, has taken a non-executive position on Africo Resources, Harwood said