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First Quantum Minerals Ltd. announced that it has suspended operations at its Frontier mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the “RDC”).
This suspension follows the withdrawal of Frontier’s exploitation permit by CAMI, the RDC mining registry, and a letter received today from SODIMICO, the state-owned mining company which has purportedly been granted Frontier’s titles, demanding that Frontier stop all mining and exports and leave the mining title areas. Philip Pascall, First Quantum’s CEO, said “Today’s threats by SODIMICO render it impossible to continue safe and orderly operations at Frontier. Our immediate concerns are to ensure the safety of our employees in what has progressively become an unstable environment. It is regrettable that the dispute could not have been resolved in a rational manner to ensure the continued operation of Frontier. The suspension of Frontier will unfortunately cause great hardship to our Congolese employees and the surrounding community, and the loss of much needed revenues for the RDC.”. First Quantum believes that any purported withdrawal of the Frontier permit is contrary to the Mining Code and RDC law, amounts to an expropriation of First Quantum’s property, and was initiated against First Quantum as retribution for the commencement of arbitration relating to the Kolwezi Project, which was reported to have been acquired by London based ENRC on August 19, 2010. Frontier's operations employed approximately 1500 workers and it was the largest tax payer in the RDC in 2009. First Quantum will continue to advance its rights through international arbitration with respect to the Kolwezi Project and now the Frontier mine and will pursue all other legal remedies available against third parties seeking enrichment through interference with First Quantum's legal rights. The Company will hold a conference call to discuss these developments. Further updates will be provided as warranted. |
