The international firm is one of the professional service providers selected to review the US$9 billion China-Congolaise des Mines project on behalf of the central African country’s government, which has expressed dissatisfaction with the deal ahead of its renegotiation in 2024.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has announced a comprehensive audit of the China-Congolaise des Mines (Chicomines) project as a prelude to renegotiating the terms of the deal with its Chinese partner.
In an announcement on March 5, alongside posts on both X and Facebook, the country’s pilotage agency, the Agreement Administration, Coordination and Monitoring Service (APCSC), announced on the same day that it would hold a contract signing ceremony in the capital Kinshasa for a comprehensive technical and financial audit of the Sicomines project from 2008 to 2024.
APCSC Secretary-General Freddie Yodi Shembo signed the agreement, establishing a special consortium named Audit Technology and Financial Institutions – Coordination and Floating Convention Pilot (ATF-PCSC). International law firm Mayer Brown is one of the international advisors for the consortium, which also includes Rothschild, EY, mining and natural resources-focused SRK Consulting, and four other service providers that have not yet been named.
News of the audit follows mounting criticism that the Sikomines agreement is improperly skewed in favor of Chinese investors, with Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Shisekedi recently publicly raising concerns about the fairness of such a deal ahead of its terms being renegotiated in 2024.
The announcement confirmed that the audit will cover multiple aspects of the project, including mining, financial performance, technology and infrastructure, legal and contractual, and environmental and sustainability issues. Furthermore (translation by ALB), “The conclusions of this audit will make it possible to develop an overall assessment of the implementation of the program and formulate strategic recommendations aimed at improving its performance.”
The copper and cobalt-focused Sikomines project, located near the southern city of Kolwezi on the border with Zambia, dates back to a 2008 cooperation agreement between the DRC and a Chinese consortium led by China’s national railway company.
The $9 billion project was originally structured as a “minerals for infrastructure” deal, with $3 billion covering the mine and the remaining $6 billion going toward building public infrastructure such as roads, sports stadiums, medical facilities and higher education facilities.
Mayer Brown’s experts on audit matters include Olivier Mérid, global co-head of the firm’s Africa practice, based in Paris, and Ian Coles, a mining and infrastructure consultant based in London.
Elsewhere in Francophone Africa, the West African nation of Burkina Faso took the decisive step of nationalizing five gold mining assets last June.
