mine · Democratic Republic of the Congo
Tenke Fungurume
One of the largest copper-cobalt operations in the world.
OperatingProductionProject score 75
Operator
CMOC Group
Country
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mine life
25 yrs
Capex
—
Profile
Resource, economics and jurisdiction
- Resource
- Very large high-grade copper-cobalt resource in the Central African Copperbelt.
- Production
- Major copper output with cobalt as a significant by-product.
- Economics
- Cobalt by-product credits materially reduce copper cost.
- Infrastructure
- On-site hydrometallurgical plant; power supply from regional hydro.
- Jurisdiction
- High risk
- Ownership
- CMOC 80%, Gecamines 20%
- Region
- Lualaba
Overview
What this asset is
One of the largest copper-cobalt operations in the world.
Methodology
Earthern Project Score 75
Version v0.1
- Resource Quality
- 81 (weight 1.2) — Grade, continuity and metallurgical complexity of the resource.
- Project Scale
- 83 (weight 1) — Annual output potential relative to the global market for its primary mineral.
- Development Stage
- 69 (weight 0.9) — How far the asset has advanced toward or through production.
- Jurisdiction
- 78 (weight 1.1) — Political stability, permitting predictability and rule of law.
- Infrastructure
- 70 (weight 0.9) — Access to power, water, transport and processing capacity.
- Economics
- 74 (weight 1.2) — Cost position and margin resilience through the price cycle.
- Strategic Importance
- 78 (weight 1) — Relevance to national critical mineral strategies and allied supply chains.
- Supply-Chain Value
- 81 (weight 1) — Whether the asset relieves a genuine downstream bottleneck.
- Sustainability
- 67 (weight 0.9) — Carbon intensity, water use, tailings approach and community standing.
- Execution Risk
- 69 (weight 1) — Technical, financing and schedule risk to reaching nameplate output. Higher is lower risk.
Materials
Minerals produced
Assets
Related assets
mine · Chile
El Teniente
The largest underground copper mine in the world, in operation for over a century.
mine · ChileEscondida
The largest copper mine in the world by output, operating in the Atacama Desert since 1990.
mine · IndonesiaGrasberg
A giant copper-gold complex transitioning from open pit to large-scale block cave mining.
project · ArgentinaJosemaria
A large copper-gold development in the Vicuna district of the high Andes.
mine · Democratic Republic of the CongoKamoa-Kakula
The highest-grade major copper mine in the world, powered largely by hydroelectricity.
refinery · FinlandKokkola Cobalt Refinery
One of the largest cobalt refineries outside China, serving European battery makers.