ERG Confirms Agreement with Gecamines

Eurasian Resources Group Corporation has released an official statement on the agreement signed with the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state-owned Gecamines, confirming it is aimed at settling a long-running conflict, Orda.kz reports.

Bloomberg was the first to highlight the deal, noting that only the DRC president’s office had initially mentioned the signing without details. At that time, neither ERG nor Gecamines commented. Hours later, ERG issued a press release confirming the settlement.

The corporation said the agreement was a “major” one, focusing on the Swanmines mining project in the DRC.

It is designed to end an arbitration dispute between ERG subsidiaries and Gecamines, currently being reviewed in Paris. The document also outlines a framework for cooperation on the project and expands Gecamines’ role in its implementation.

We are pleased to have reached an understanding with Gecamines and are ready to move forward together in a new phase of cooperation to implement the project. We welcome the deepening of bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and the DRC, including in the metallurgical and mining sector, where both countries have unique opportunities and great potential,
said Shukhrat Ibragimov, Chair of the Board of Directors of ERG Group. 

The dispute dates back to 2023, when Gecamines proposed buying out some ERG assets and canceled the creation of a joint venture at the Kalukundi copper-cobalt deposit. That move sparked arbitration proceedings and hindered other ERG projects in the country.

ERG holds major stakes in the DRC, developing significant copper and cobalt deposits.

Oil and gas industry analyst Nurlan Zhumagulov called the deal positive for Kazakhstan.

This is great news, as the Kazakh government owns 40% of ERG. In Congo, ERG has major assets producing cobalt (the second largest producer in the world) and copper. We hope that the settlement with the Congolese government will benefit ERG, because by the end of 2024, ERG suffered a record loss of $1.2 billion.

Original Author: Nikita Drobny