• Login
NORVANREPORTS.COM |  Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World
  • Home
  • News
    • General
    • Political
  • Economy
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Aviation
    • Banking & Finance
    • Energy
    • Insurance
    • Manufacturing
    • Markets
    • Maritime
    • Real Estate
    • Tourism
    • Transport
  • Technology
    • Telecom
    • Cyber-security
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Tech-guide
    • Social Media
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Opinions
  • Reports
    • Banking/Finance
    • Insurance
    • Budgets
    • GDP
    • Inflation
    • Central Bank
    • Sec/Gse
  • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Travel
    • Environment
    • Weather
  • NRTV
    • Audio
    • Video
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
NORVANREPORTS.COM |  Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Trafigura’s $600m Cobalt play faces cash crunch in Congo

2 years ago
in Business, Features, highlights, Home, home-news, latest News, Markets
2 min read
0 0
0
41
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin

Trafigura’s $600m Cobalt play faces cash crunch in Congo

Trafigura Group has been forced to seek new funding for one of its flagship investments — a $600 million copper-cobalt project in the Democratic Republic of Congo — in the latest headache for the trading house’s embattled metals business.

The project being developed by Chemaf SA, a longtime partner of Trafigura, has run into difficulties amid cost overruns and weak cobalt prices according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.

Trafigura’s metals unit is already under fire after announcing in February it was the victim of a massive alleged nickel fraud. Trafigura vies with rival Glencore Plc for the status of the world’s largest metals trader, but the business has been overshadowed in recent years by the eyewatering profits earned by its energy traders — even before the nickel scandal became public.

Trafigura last year announced a $600 million loan for Chemaf for the construction of what it said would be one of the largest copper and cobalt mines in Congo at Mutoshi, as well as a processing plant there and another at its Etoile operation in Lubumbashi.

However, the project has overshot its budget and can’t be completed with the current loan facility, the people said. As a result, Trafigura has been sounding out investors who could provide additional money to help complete the project. The trading house is seeking additional funding of about $200 million to $300 million, according to one of the people.

It’s not clear how much of the $600 million loan has been drawn down. The loan is secured against Chemaf’s assets, according to one of the people.

RelatedPosts

Methodist Church Ghana to Launch Connexional Entrepreneurship Programme – Presiding Bishop Asamoah-Gyadu Discloses

Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Ansah Urges Graduates to Embrace Failure as Methodist Church Ghana Outdoors First Cohort of Wesleyan Entrepreneurship School

President Mahama Removes Chief Justice Torkornoo from Office Over Stated Misbehaviour

“Trafigura has been working with Chemaf to review options for the Mutoshi and Etoile development projects in light of challenging market conditions, which include persistently low cobalt prices and inflationary pressures facing the mining industry,” the company said in a statement. “Trafigura remains committed to the Democratic Republic of Congo and building its presence in fast-growing battery metals markets.”

A Chemaf spokesperson said that the company had completed over 70% of the construction of the new Mutoshi operation, and that it and Trafigura were “working collaboratively to review the most optimal pathways to first production.”

The project has become less attractive after a slump in cobalt prices, which in May fell to the lowest in nearly four years. The market for cobalt hydroxide, the intermediate form produced by Chemaf and other Congolese miners, has been particularly hard hit amid booming supply and a slowdown in Chinese demand.

It’s not clear how much Trafigura stands to lose if the project falls flat. The loan was syndicated last year to banks led by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank, known as TDB, although Trafigura still retains a significant exposure, according to several of the people. TDB did not respond to emailed requests for comment.

Chemaf has a longstanding relationship with Trafigura dating back more than 15 years. Shiraz Virji, the company’s founder and chairman, started selling pharmaceuticals from India to Congo in the 1980s when it was still called Zaire. He acquired his first mining concessions in Congo in 2001, according to Chemaf’s website, in a wave of privatizations after former President Joseph Kabila came to power.

The $600 million deal to build a “fully mechanized” mine is focused on a site which for years has been dug by hand in what’s known as artisanal mining. Trafigura and Chemaf started a pilot project in 2018 to improve safety conditions for artisanal miners working at Mutoshi, but abandoned it in 2020 when the Congolese government created a state-controlled monopoly on the sale of hand-dug cobalt.

The timeline for the project had already begun to slip last year. When Trafigura first announced the $600 million loan last January, it said the Mutoshi mine would start producing by the third quarter of 2023. By November, when the syndication of the loan was announced, the anticipated start of production had been pushed back until the fourth quarter of 2023. Now it is not expected to be completed this year, one of the people said.

Tags: $600m CobaltTrafigura’s $600m Cobalt play faces cash crunch in Congo
No Result
View All Result

Highlights

Liverpool Set to Break British Record with Alexander Isak Signing on Deadline Day

Morocco Poised to Make History as First African Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup

Prof. Bokpin Faults Ghana’s Budget Framework for Rewarding SOE Underperformance

Ghana Becomes Dangote Refinery’s Latest Crude Source as Refinery Hits 70% Capacity

GHS 395 Billion Asset Value of SOEs Formed 33.5% of Ghana’s GDP in 2024

JVCs Post GHS1.51bn Profit, Assets Rise 39.9% in 2024 – SIGA Report

Trending

Features

Methodist Church Ghana to Launch Connexional Entrepreneurship Programme – Presiding Bishop Asamoah-Gyadu Discloses

September 1, 2025

Methodist Church Ghana to Launch Connexional Entrepreneurship Programme - Presiding Bishop Asamoah-Gyadu Discloses The Presiding Bishop of...

Rt. Rev. Emmanuel Ansah Urges Graduates to Embrace Failure as Methodist Church Ghana Outdoors First Cohort of Wesleyan Entrepreneurship School

September 1, 2025

President Mahama Removes Chief Justice Torkornoo from Office Over Stated Misbehaviour

September 1, 2025

Liverpool Set to Break British Record with Alexander Isak Signing on Deadline Day

September 1, 2025

Morocco Poised to Make History as First African Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup

September 1, 2025

Who we are?

NORVANREPORTS.COM |  Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World

NorvanReports is a unique data, business, and financial portal aimed at providing accurate, impartial reporting of business news on Ghana, Africa, and around the world from a truly independent reporting and analysis point of view.

© 2020 Norvanreports – credible news platform.
L: Hse #4 3rd Okle Link, Baatsonaa – Accra-Ghana T:+233-(0)26 451 1013 E: news@norvanreports.com info@norvanreports.com
All rights reserved we display professionalism at all stages of publications

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
    • Agribusiness
    • Aviation
    • Energy
    • Insurance
    • Manufacturing
    • Real Estate
    • Maritime
    • Tourism
    • Transport
    • Banking & Finance
    • Trade
    • Markets
  • Economy
  • Reports
  • Technology
    • Cryptocurrency
    • Cyber-security
    • Social Media
    • Tech-guide
    • Telecom
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Opinions
  • Lifestyle
    • Entertainment
    • Sports
    • Travel
    • Environment
    • Weather
  • NRTV
    • Audio
    • Video

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
NORVANREPORTS.COM | Business News, Insurance, Taxation, Oil & Gas, Maritime News, Ghana, Africa, World
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.