{"id":82039,"date":"2024-01-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/01\/29\/drc-secures-usd-7-bn-minerals-for-infrastructure-agreement-with-china\/"},"modified":"2024-01-29T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T00:00:00","slug":"drc-secures-usd-7-bn-minerals-for-infrastructure-agreement-with-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/climate\/2024\/01\/29\/drc-secures-usd-7-bn-minerals-for-infrastructure-agreement-with-china\/","title":{"rendered":"DRC secures USD 7 bn minerals-for-infrastructure agreement with China"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>DRC bags USD 7 bn minerals-for-infrastructure agreement with <\/strong>China<\/strong>:<\/strong> State-backed China Railway Group Limited and Sinohydro Corp have agreed to increase investments by USD 4 bn for a planned minerals-for infrastructure agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo\u2019s government owned mining firm Gecamines in exchange for a 68% stake in their copper-cobalt mining joint venture Sicomines, the company said<\/a>. The DRC will also hold a 40% share in the Busanga hydropower plant powering the mine, according to the company. The revised investment scheme brings the total amount of investments up to USD 7 bn.<\/p>\n

Over a decade in the making: <\/strong>The DRC had reached an initial agreement with China on the resources-for-minerals contract back in 2007<\/a>, but the pact has been revised several times, with the DRC\u2019s state auditor demanding last year the Chinese firms shell out a total of USD 20 bn \u2014 from the initially agreed upon USD 3 bn \u2014 on domestic infrastructure projects in return for the mining shares they seek, Reuters<\/a> writes. <\/p>\n

REMEMBER- China is <\/strong>sinking USD <\/strong>bns<\/strong> in Africa\u2019s mining sector:<\/strong> Chinese firms were awarded lithium exploration and energy production licenses that could amount to USD 2.79 bn worth of investments pouring into Zimbabwe last November<\/a>. The continent is home to 5% of the world\u2019s total lithium supplies<\/a>, and mining expansions are expected to bring up Africa's capacity from the current annual production rate of 40k tons to 497k tons by 2030<\/a>. Africa has vast deposits of other minerals, with the DRC supplying 70%<\/a> of global cobalt reserves alone. <\/p>\n

Mining for cobalt is fraught with human rights abuses: <\/strong>Child labor in DRC\u2019s mining sector has been dubbed equivalent to \u201c modern day slavery<\/a> \u201d with children accounting for at least 40k<\/a> of the 255k Congolese citizens mining for cobalt.<\/p>\n

IN RELATED NEWS- China owes GDP growth to its clean energy sector:<\/strong>China\u2019s clean energy sector played a pivotal role in its economic expansion last year, contributing 40% to the nation\u2019s GDP, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air<\/a>. The sector contributed a record CNY 11.4 tn with substantial increases gained in the sectors for solar power, electric vehicles and batteries.<\/p>\n

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-<\/strong><\/p>\n