FACTBOX-Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo

May 14 (Reuters) - Power shortages threaten to slow mining development in Congo and drive up project costs in one of the world's richest copper and cobalt regions. [ID:nL14775869]

Here are details of some of the main projects in Democratic Republic of Congo and the companies running them.

ANGLO AMERICAN (AAL.L) (AGLJ.J)

The world's fourth biggest mining group by market capitalisation has opened offices in the capital Kinshasa as well as the city of Lubumbashi in the country's copper belt.

Anglo will be exploring in Congo and at least seven other African nations to look for large base metals deposits. Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll said in February the company would jack up its exploration budget on the continent by 30 percent this year.

AFRICO RESOURCES (ARL.TO)

Canadian company Africo is seeking to develop the Kalukundi copper-cobalt project, but its ownership of the project has been disputed by Akam Mining.

In September, the firm said Congo's justice minister supported its ownership position and in November the IFC, the World Bank's private sector investment arm, said it planned to buy C$4 million in Africo shares to help finance the project.

ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI (ANGJ.J)

The world's third-biggest gold producer has been drilling for gold at Mongbwalu in northeastern Ituri since 2005.

AngloGold said in February that it had completed a conceptual economic study for the deposit, which has an initial inferred resource of 2.9 million ounces of gold.

ANVIL MINING (AVM.TO) (AVM.AX)

Anvil has majority stakes in three mines in Katanga province that produce copper and silver -- Kinsevere, Dikulushi and Kulu.

Anvil produced 47,633 tonnes of copper and a record 2.45 million ounces of silver in DRC in 2007.

Its 2008 production forecast for silver is almost half that, at 1.3 million ounces, though copper output is seen at 55,000 tonnes. The company has previously said it aims to increase output to 100,000 tonnes of copper by 2010.

BANRO CORPORATION (BAA.TO)

Toronto-listed Banro has four gold properties comprising 13 exploitation permits in the South Kivu and Maniema provinces.

Measured and indicated resources across the Twangiza, Kamituga, Lugushwa and Nomaya properties total 4.81 million ounces of gold.

BHP BILLITON (BLT.L)(BHP.AX)

BHP, the world's largest diversified miner, is exploring for copper and diamonds in Congo.

Last year, it also said it was in the "early stages" of looking at an aluminium smelter project in the country.

CENTRAL AFRICAN MINING AND EXPLORATION CO (CAMEC) (CFM.L)

CAMEC restarted work in February at the Mukondo Mountain project, which it says is the richest cobalt mine in the world, after halting it in early 2007. CAMEC aims for initial output of 400 tonnes of cobalt per month, rising to 1,000 per month by end of the year.

In March, CAMEC said it had reached a deal to give state-run mining group Gecamines a 30 percent stake in the mine, retaining the remaining 70 percent.

The company targeted production of 40,000 tonnes copper and 6,000 tonnes cobalt from its Luita processing plant in the year to end-March 2008, rising to 100,000 tonnes of copper and 12,000 tonnes cobalt by the end of that year.

CHEMAF

The privately-owned Congolese company which owns the licence for the Etoile mine, estimated to hold 682,041 tonnes of copper and 108,951 tonnes of cobalt, and the yet unworked Makala deposit.

It also controls the Kananga concession in joint venture with state miner Gecamines and has said it wants to begin industrial mining operations at the Makala and Kananga mines.

It owns a cobalt processing plant in Lubumbashi and also plans a facility to produce copper cathode.

CHINA SUN GROUP (CSGH.OB)

The China Sun Group, formerly known as Capital Resource Funding Corp, signed a contract last year to buy the prospecting and mining rights to a cobalt mine in Lubumbashi.

It signed the deal through its subsidiary Dalian Xinyang High-Tech Development (DLX), one of the largest Chinese cobalt producers.

DLX will own 80 percent of the mined cobalt and Shengbao Group will own the remainder. DLX plans to launch construction of a processing plant in early 2008 to produce finished cobalt products from raw ore on-site, the firm said.

COPPER RESOURCES CORP CRC.L

Copper Resources holds a 75 percent stake in the three MMK deposits, which together contain an estimated 5.3 billion lbs of copper. South African Metorex (MTXJ.J) owns 45.6 percent of CRC.

The Kinsenda and Musoshi mines were first mined from 1968, but were abandoned and are flooded. A bankable feasibility study estimated that the Kinsenda project would cost $93 million in financing. Lubembe is a greenfields exploration property.

FIRST QUANTUM (FM.TO)(FQM.L)

The company said in January it expects its new Frontier copper mine, which launched operations late in 2007, to produce 84,000 tonnes in 2008.

First Quantum plans to start production from its Kolwezi copper-cobalt tailings project in Katanga in early 2010 with initial output of 35,000 tonnes of copper and 7,000 tonnes of cobalt per year for capital expenditure of $593 million, rising later to 70,000 tonnes of copper and 14,000 tonnes of cobalt a year.

FREEPORT MCMORAN COPPER & GOLD (FCX.N)

Freeport acquired a 57.75 percent stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt project, one of the world's largest, when it bought Phelps Dodge for $25.9 billion in 2007.

Lundin said in April the capital cost estimates had almost doubled to $1.75 billion from previous estimate of $900 million, made in October 2007.

Initial production of 115,000 tonnes of copper and 8,000 tonnes of cobalt per year is targeted to start in the second half of 2009, rising to 400,000 T copper and 30,000 T cobalt by 2015.

KATANGA MINING (KAT.TO)

Katanga agreed a friendly deal in November 2007 worth over $2.0 billion to buy rival Nikanor to create Africa's biggest copper producer by 2011, combining copper/cobalt projects the two firms had been developing in the same area of the copperbelt near the town of Kolwezi.

The combined company has revised down its projected output to "over 300,000 tonnes of refined copper and over 30,000 tonnes of cobalt" a year from initial targets of 400,000 tonnes of copper and 40,000 tonnes of cobalt.

LUNDIN MINING (LUN.TO)

Lundin owns a 24.75 percent stake in the Tenke Fungurume copper-cobalt deposit in the DRC, majority-owned by Freeport McMoRan.

METOREX (MTXJ.J)

Johannesburg-listed Metorex has an 80 percent stake in Ruashi Mining, which has the rights to process the ore stockpiles on the Ruashi and Etoile mines, and the right to exploit the Ruashi orebody. Gecamines owns 20 percent of the company.

Metorex said in April that the Ruashi II project had produced its first copper on March 31, and ramp-up was expected to take place in the 10 months from April 1. Capacity is 45,000 tonnes of copper and 3,500 tonnes of cobalt.

Metorex also has a 45.6 percent stake in Copper Resources Corp, which has projects in the DRC.

MOTO GOLDMINES MGL.TOMGLq.L

The firm is seeking to develop the Moto gold project in a joint venture with Congo's state-owned gold company OKIMO, which has a 30 percent stake in the project and holds the mineral rights.

The project has indicated mineral resources of 10.3 million ounces of gold and a definitive feasibility study was completed in December 2007, which the firm said demonstrated the project's long life.

Moto said in February the government has requested a renegotiation of its mining contracts and that it would hold discussions with OKIMO.

MWANA AFRICA (MWA.L)

London-listed Mwana, formerly African Gold, owns 80 percent of Kilo Moto, an exploration licence for gold in the northeast of the country.

Last year, it took over Gravity Diamonds, which is exploring a large diamond concession in Kasai province.

In 2006, it bought Umicore ACUMt.BR subsidiary Sibeka, owner of a 20 percent stake in DRC diamond miner MIBA, which produces an average of 6 million carats of diamonds per year.

It also owns the Katanga copper concessions, which is subject to a joint venture exploration option agreement with Anglo American (AAL.L).

OM GROUP (OMG.N)

U.S. based speciality chemicals maker OM Group is majority owner of the Big Hill cobalt smelter in Lubumbashi. After smelting in the Congo, cobalt is sent to OMG's refinery in Kokkola, Finland. Other partners in the smelter are Gecamines and George Forrest Group.

TEAL EXPLORATION AND MINING TL.TO (TELJ.J)

Teal is operating the Kalumines copper and cobalt mine, of which it has a 60 percent stake. In February it said the mine was targeting 24,500 tonnes per year of contained copper.

The firm plans a feasibility study late in 2008 to boost output to 40,000 tonnes a year. It also has a furnace that produces 5,000 tonnes a year of blister copper.

(Sources: Reuters, company websites, stock exchange announcements)

(Reporting by Eric Onstad and Daniel Magnowski in London and Joe Bavier in Kinshasa; editing by Chris Johnson)