The Toronto- and London-listed company said last week that the suspension would result in the immediate loss of 700 jobs, the loss of tax revenues to the DRC government, and an indefinite delay in the commissioning of the 65%-complete Kolwezi project, which was targeted for May 2010.

It said that the suspension followed the issuing of an order by the general prosecutor of the DRC’s Katanga province to “seal” the facilities of Kingamyambo Musonoi Tailings (KMT), the permit holder.

Lawyers advised First Quantum that the order was illegal, especially without a court order, and said the act of ‘sealing’ was usually associated with financial matters, like the nonpayment of taxes, which was not the case with KMT.

The shareholders of KMT are First Quantum, 65%; the DRC’s State-owned Gécamines, 12,5%; South Africa’s IDC, 10%; the International Finance Corpora- tion (IFC), 7,5%; and the DRC government, 5%.

First Quantum said it had filed notices of force majeure. Initial production rates were expected to be 35 000 t of copper and 7 000 t of cobalt a year, rising to 70 000 t of copper and 14 000 t of cobalt within two years.
The company and the Kolwezi project’s other contributing partners, the IFC and the IDC, remained firmly of the view that the DRC government’s actions had no legal standing.

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