AMN - DRC: Kipushi cobalt production later this year

Cape Lambert Resources told delegates at the Investing in African Mining Indaba this that it intends to begin mining cobalt later this year at the Kipushi Tailings Project in the DRC.

A DRC-based joint venture company, Soludo-Lambert Mining SAS (SLM), has been established to develop and operate the project. Cape Lambert’s 50/50 partner in the joint venture is Paragon Mining SARL.

The Kipushi project consists of a tailings dam and an adjacent mining licence containing the processing plant.

The company has this week appointed South African engineering consulting firm GWCH Consulting (Pty) Ltd to carry out an engineering review of the processing plant.

GWCH will visit the plant next week to document their assessment and then make recommendations on the upgrades needed to bring the plant operational.

An initial assessment will be completed over the next two months allowing the joint venture to finalise the detailed engineering budgets and schedules.

The joint venture aims to have this process completed by quarter three of 2018 in order to begin processing Kipushi tailings material.

Engaging the services of GWCH follows the appointment of Philippe Bouchart as general manager of the SLM joint venture.

Bouchart has extensive industry experience across all areas of exploration, development and production, including more than 15 years working in the DRC.

Cape Lambert chairman SLM general manager Tony Sage said: "I am pleased that we are now moving forward with key appointments such as this to advance our cobalt joint venture.

"Mr Bouchart brings an incredible amount of experience to the role, and he has worked for over 15 years in the DRC.

"He has extensive experience with cobalt projects, with a focus on constructing and optimising metallurgical plants to maximise cobalt recoveries and returns."

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