Congo Gecamines Wants Early Bonuses Mining Deal Bonuses

Congo's state mining company, Gecamines, has asked companies that have recently signed amended mining contracts to speed up payment of signing bonuses to enable it avert a financial crisis.

According to a statement from the Federation of Businesses of Congo, Gecamines wants the early payments to improve its financial position, which has been bruised by effects of the current global economic crisis.

According to the statement, Prime Minister Adolphe Mizito met with company representatives last week and urged them to speed up the payments.

Since last year, the Congolese government has been reviewing up to 61 mining joint ventures which were signed between Gecamines and various international companies between 1996 and 2003; most of the companies have since signed revised contracts and are required to pay signing bonuses.

According to a company official, Gecamines expects to raise more than $500 million from signing bonuses.

Gecamines is facing a financial freeze blamed mainly on dwindling mineral exports. U.N.-sponsored radio Okapi reported in January that Gecamines was indebted to Congo's national electricity utility, SNEL, to the tune of $282 million. The company also owes around $30 million to the national railway company. Rail workers in mineral-rich Katanga province have been on strike since the start of February over delayed salaries. The strike has since paralyzed railway operations in the province.

Some of the companies that have signed revised contracts include South Africa-based Metorex Ltd. (MTX.JO), Lundin Mining Corp. (LMC), Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. (FCX), BHP Billiton (BLT.LN) and Anglogold Ashanti Ltd. (AU).

-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]