The military situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo is confused, and it takes a brave company with tremendous insight to judge whether the renewed fighting will affect its operation in the country. Despite this, there has been a flow of Press releases, mainly from junior mining companies, claiming that little is happening in the Congo and their mines are unaffected. Reuters reports that the UK has held back its financial aid to Zambia, with the British High Commission saying the funds would have been wasted propping up loss-making mines. Botswana Diamondfields has announced that significant concentrations of kimberlite indicator minerals, previously identified in reconnaissance sampling, have been confirmed for its Tswapong Block in detailed sampling grids. A special government committee has been appointed to conclude final negotiations within 30 days.
Negotiations are underway with suitable business partners to run the free zone.
Preliminary environmental and other studies have shown the least environmentally sensitive locality for the HBI plant to be about 22km north of Beira, about 200km inland. Several sites around Dondo were also investigated at the request of the stakeholders. These were found to hold significant environmental risk due to being located in the upper reaches of the Savane river, where such large development would intersect drainage lines and disturb flow, which will have downstream effects all the way to the Savane estuary. The most recently completed drilling at Itetemia in Tanzania confirms the volcanogenic nature of the mineralisation. Drill holes have intersected two sulphide mineralised gold bearing zones.