Tremalt Limited was a mining company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands[1] which owned assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was the vehicle for a highly criticized deal in 2001 in which it bought copper assets at far below their estimated value in return for a private agreement to pay a share of profits to the DRC and Zimbabwe governments. Allegedly some of the payments were made in the form of military equipment. The company made few investments in its assets, several of which the DRC government took back. In 2006 it was sold for about $60m.
| Industry | Mining |
|---|---|
| Defunct | November 2007 |
| Fate | Merged into Central African Mining and Exploration Company |
| Headquarters | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
KMC acquisition, 2001
editIn January 2001 the Kababancola Mining Company (KMC) was established as a copper and cobalt mining partnership for a 25-year term.[2] Tremalt, initially controlled by John Bredenkamp, held 80% of KMC while Gecamines held 20%[3] A network of private holding companies and trusts registered in the Isle of Man and the British Virgin Islands concealed the true owners of Tremalt.[4] KMC gained the rights to mines, facilities and concentrators at Kambove and Kakanda. KMC made relatively low investment in these properties, continuing to operate the already-functioning Kamoya Mine but not opening the others.[2] In March 2002 the DRC authorities took back control of the Kambove concentrator from Tremalt following a complaint by the manager of KMC against Gecamines at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes.[5] In its 2003-year end report KMC claimed a cumulative loss of over USD$11 million in the first three years.[2]
United Nations investigation, 2002
editIn October 2002 the United Nations published the Final report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The report named Brigadier General Sibusiso Busi Moyo and Air Commodore Mike Tichafa Karakadzai as key players in arranging the KMC deal with Tremalt.[6] According to the report, Tremalt had paid $400,000 for the rights to exploit six Gecamines concessions that held a total of 2.7 million tons of copper and 325,000 tons of cobalt. These concessions had an estimated value of over $1 billion. In a private agreement, net profits would be divided 32% to Tremalt, 34% to the DRC government and 34% to the Zimbabwe government. Tremalt undertook to supply military vehicles and cash in lieu of the profit share payments.[7]
Subsequent history
editThe UK-based NGO Rights and Accountability in Development brought a case against Tremalt alleging illegal resource exploitation. However, the UK National Contact Point for the OECD blocked the case, saying it had been resolved by the United Nations panel. In June 2004 RAID withdrew the case.[8]
John Bredenkamp sold Tremalt for about $60m to the Israeli-American businessman Dan Gertler in 2006.[3] In 2007 Tremalt was owned by Prairie International Ltd, of which Dan Gertler’s family trust was a major shareholder. Tremalt owned 80% of Savannah Mining, which held concessions C17 and C18 in Katanga Province and 50% of the Mukondo project. The other 50% of Mukonda was held by BOSS Mining, which in turn was 80% owned by Central African Mining & Exploration Company (CAMEC). There were plans to combine the Mukondo assets into a new holding company. Billy Rautenbach, a Zimbabwean who had formed BOSS and now owned a share of CAMEC, would be excluded from ownership in the new company due to the hostile relations that had developed between him and the DRC government.[9] The MOU to complete the deal was signed between CAMEC and Prairie International in November 2007.[10]
References
edit- ^ Garside, Juliette (2016-04-06). "Alleged Mugabe cronies kept offshore firms years after UN alert raised". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ a b c "Pillage des ressources minières de la RDC : les dessous de cartes de la compagnie KMC". The Conscience (in French). March 9, 2006. Archived from the original on July 4, 2007. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ a b Barry Sergeant (6 May 2007). "Copper/cobalt bull elephants square up in the DRC". Mining Newsletter. United Nations. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ Daniel Compagnon (2011). A predictable tragedy: Robert Mugabe and the collapse of Zimbabwe. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 216. ISBN 978-0-8122-4267-6.
- ^ Europa Publications (2003). Africa South of the Sahara 2004. Routledge. p. 275. ISBN 1-85743-183-9.
- ^ "Govt and Zimbabwean illegal resource exploitation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Part of UN report)". Afrol. 16 October 2002. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ Geoff Hill (2003). The battle for Zimbabwe: the final countdown. Zebra. p. 225. ISBN 1-86872-652-5.
- ^ "RAID vs. Tremalt". OECD Watch. 28 June 2004. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ Allan Seccombe (7 Nov 2007). "CAMEC enters new JV to house DRC assets". MiningMX. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
- ^ "CAMEC creates new DRC joint venture company to develop Mukondo Mountain". MineWeb. 7 Nov 2007. Retrieved 2011-11-14.