CoTec and Copper Intelligence have signed a definitive joint venture (JV) agreement focusing on the processing of historical copper tailings in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The agreement also involves two third-party investment vehicles associated with CoTec’s CEO Julian Treger and chairman Lucio Genovese.
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The JV will seek opportunities across the DRC’s historical copper districts, particularly within the Central African Copperbelt, an area well-known for significant copper and cobalt resources.
During decades of industrial mining led by Gécamines, the state-owned company, large volumes of copper tailings have accumulated since the 1950s.
Treger said: “The company’s strategy is to build a copper division and the JV with Copper Intelligence provides CoTec with a long-term partner who has demonstrated resource execution in a world-class copper district.
“We are excited to progress towards securing assets which can utilise our technologies as we build out our asset portfolio. The DRC has a rich copper mining history that we expect would be reflected in its potential scalable tailings opportunities.”
Under the terms of the agreement, the JV has set out a process for evaluating copper tailings opportunities.
Each potential project will undergo legal and technical due diligence before advancing and will require binding agreements on an asset-by-asset basis.
Both the independent members of the JV’s board and the independent directors of CoTec must approve developments before resources are allocated.
CoTec plans to deploy its own technologies to enhance the economic prospects of the tailings and redundant copper sites.
The JV also aims to secure funding from the US International Development Finance Corporation and other financiers once the portfolio reaches sufficient scale.
The newly formed JV company will be incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, with all necessary incorporation documents to be executed upon registration.
Copper Intelligence chairman Andrew Groves said: “We are excited to pursue a strategic partnership with the CoTec team. We look forward to a strong and profitable relationship with a team that has achieved a track record of success for many decades.
“This transaction further contributes to our vertically integrated vision for Copper Intelligence.”
