The Democratic Republic of Congo would be increasing to 15% its free stake in new mining projects in the country. The Congo government currently had the right to get a 5% free stake in new mining projects. The government had been seen clashing with mining firms for over a year now about amendments to the former's 2002 equity regulations. Initially, the government had wanted to raise their free stake to 35%.
Chantal Bashizi, the Vice President for the Commission in charge of making revisions to the mining code, told participants of the iPad mining conference, "It was among the clauses that angered operators. In the current structure we've lowered it from 35 percent to 15 percent."
The country's central bank revealed that mining and oil comprised 32% of Congo's economic output. The government was looking to raise revenues from the mining sector.
In another interview, Bashizi said another proposal also included raising copper and cobalt royalties to 6%. The contract stability guarantee would also be lowered from ten years to five years under the revised code.
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