JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Minister of Mines Martin Kabwelulu Labilo said on Tuesday that the government planned to investigate suspected financial misconduct by Canada-based First Quantum Minerals.

Spokesperson for the DRC government, Ambassador Bene M’Poko, told Mining Weekly Online that the investigation would include, among other aspects, suspected tax evasion and underwriting of invoices.

The government was currently seeking the services of a credible international auditing firm to undertake an independent forensic audit of First Quantum’s DRC operations, with M’Poko saying that, once appointed, the firm would hopefully conclude the investigation quickly.

The government would use the findings of the forensic report to decide whether or not it should pursue legal action against the base-metals miner or any of its directors.

Meanwhile, M’Poko said that the DRC government felt very confident about its case against First Quantum with regard to the arbitration process initiated by the miner at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The DRC government revoked the TSX- and LSE-listed company’s licence for the Kolwezi mine in August last year, and this month put the operation under liquidation.

M’Poko said that that the government had a “strong case” and that there was thus no reason for it to retaliate against First Quantum by suspending some of its other mining rights in the country.

First Quantum announced at the weekend that the DRC mining registry withdrew the company’s exploitation permit at the Frontier mine, and that it would, this time, initiate an arbitration process with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, in Washington.

The company has repeatedly said that this was in retaliation to it starting the ICC arbitration process.

M’Poko disputed this, saying that the rights for these operations had been expropriated from State-owned mining company Sodimico and granted to First Quantum at a time when the country was still trying to recover from the impacts of the war.

He noted that mining rights had, at that time, been granted left and right and that the mining review undertaken by the DRC was aimed at ensuring that it could correct the wrongs of the past.

He added that First Quantum had been invited to negotiate with the government on the changes in the mining sector and the new mining code, but said that the miner had refused.

PRIVATE SECTOR NEEDED

M’Poko further assured potential investors that there was no need for a legitimate mining company to fear investing in the African country.

He noted that many large mining companies were still operating in the African country.

As a resource-rich country, the DRC was trying to ensure that it creates a conducive investment, said M’Poko.

He emphasised that it was to the advantage of the local citizens that the private sector and the mining sector was developed.

The government expected foreign investors to respect the country’s laws, and to contribute to the development of the local economy for the benefit of its citizens.

He noted that most foreign investors understood this, as the same was expected of investors in South Africa and Australia.