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Mon 22 Oct 2007, 15:09 GMT
By Paul-Marin Ngoupana
BANGUI, Oct 22 (Reuters) - A uranium mine in Central African Republic was acquired by France's Areva group without the consent of the CAR government, which is seeking a negotiated settlement with the company, President Francois Bozize said.
In an interview published on Sunday in the latest edition of Jeune Afrique magazine, Bozize said his country would take the matter to the courts if it did not reach an agreement with the French nuclear technology giant over the Bakouma mine.
In July, Areva, a French state-owned group whose activities range from uranium mining to nuclear reactors and waste recycling, said it had taken control of Canadian-listed miner UraMin whose assets included an exploration contract for Bakouma.
But the Central African Republic is contesting Areva's takeover of the Bakouma contract as "irregular", arguing the terms of the deal previously signed with UraMin required the CAR government's consent for any change.
"Areva went on to acquire UraMin without our consent. So that's where the blockage is," Bozize told Jeune Afrique.
"It's out of the question for our national patrimony to be bandied about in a game between capitalists on the London Stock Exchange. This is beyond the comprehension of the people of Central African Republic," he added.
Bozize indicated his country expected Areva to offer improved terms or some kind of additional payment for taking over the Bakouma contract.
"Well, we're negotiating with Areva ... if that doesn't reach a conclusion, we'll look to our lawyers, but I don't think that is in the group's interests," he told Jeune Afrique.
Bozize said other African countries like Niger and Namibia had obtained newly negotiated deals from the French company, which has said that deposits identified by UraMin in South Africa, Namibia and the Central African Republic will increase Areva's uranium output by around 7,000 tons annually after 2012.
Fresh comment from Areva on Monday was not immediately available.
The Rest @ Reuters Africa
Showing posts with label CAR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CAR. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
Published: 19-OCT-06
Bangui - President Francois Bozize of the Central African Republic (CAR) has opened the country's first major uranium mining concern, run by the South African firm UraMin, state radio reported Wednesday.
The site, which officially opened on Tuesday is in the Bakouma basin, about 100 kilometres north of the northwestern town of Bangassou. In a speech there Bozize said that previously the mineral resources of CAR "have been exploited in an informal and chaotic fashion".
"If everybody does their job properly, there will be benefits for the state and for the population of Bakouma ... by way of roads that are being built, the electricity that will be supplied, schools and hospitals that will be constructed," he said, according to the radio.
On its website, UraMin said that the South African company "has agreed to acquire a 90 percent interest in a mineral exploitation licence over the project area for an investment of $27mn", which also covers a 12-month exploration period.
The remaining 10 percent stake is held by the CAR state.
Opening the facility and speaking in the Sango national language, Bozize chastised politicians whom he said had "begun to whisper ... and spread lies about the UraMin company."
When parliament legislated late in August for the exploitation and export of radioactive minerals, opposition deputies objected that there were insufficient environmental guarantees in the UraMin project and sought in vain to obtain publication of the convention signed by the state and the company.
Some members of parliament asked for details of the sums paid to the CAR by UraMin, while the local press published reports of unexplained payments into foreign bank accounts.
Minister of Mines Sylvain Ndoutingai said that when the mining deal was signed, UraMin paid one billion CFA francs ($1.9mn) to the state.
The presence of uranium at Bakouma was first brought to light in 1947, when the CAR was under French colonial rule. Deposits were exploited to a limited extent in the 1960s and 1970s, but never on a substantial commercial scale.
The Rest @ Business Africa
Bangui - President Francois Bozize of the Central African Republic (CAR) has opened the country's first major uranium mining concern, run by the South African firm UraMin, state radio reported Wednesday.
The site, which officially opened on Tuesday is in the Bakouma basin, about 100 kilometres north of the northwestern town of Bangassou. In a speech there Bozize said that previously the mineral resources of CAR "have been exploited in an informal and chaotic fashion".
"If everybody does their job properly, there will be benefits for the state and for the population of Bakouma ... by way of roads that are being built, the electricity that will be supplied, schools and hospitals that will be constructed," he said, according to the radio.
On its website, UraMin said that the South African company "has agreed to acquire a 90 percent interest in a mineral exploitation licence over the project area for an investment of $27mn", which also covers a 12-month exploration period.
The remaining 10 percent stake is held by the CAR state.
Opening the facility and speaking in the Sango national language, Bozize chastised politicians whom he said had "begun to whisper ... and spread lies about the UraMin company."
When parliament legislated late in August for the exploitation and export of radioactive minerals, opposition deputies objected that there were insufficient environmental guarantees in the UraMin project and sought in vain to obtain publication of the convention signed by the state and the company.
Some members of parliament asked for details of the sums paid to the CAR by UraMin, while the local press published reports of unexplained payments into foreign bank accounts.
Minister of Mines Sylvain Ndoutingai said that when the mining deal was signed, UraMin paid one billion CFA francs ($1.9mn) to the state.
The presence of uranium at Bakouma was first brought to light in 1947, when the CAR was under French colonial rule. Deposits were exploited to a limited extent in the 1960s and 1970s, but never on a substantial commercial scale.
The Rest @ Business Africa
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