The coronavirus pandemic will drive a “survival of the fittest” in Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining sector and trigger an increase in deal-making, the president of the DRC Chamber of Mines said on Wednesday.
“I think it’s going to be the survival of the fittest, post Covid-19,” Louis Watum said in a virtual panel discussion, adding the best-placed mining companies are those that are well-funded, with less debt and strong management.
“I see an increase in M&A activities post-Covid-19 where the big players are shopping around for opportunities,” said Watum, who is also managing director of DRC operations at Ivanhoe Mines.
Boris Kamstra, director of Pangea Exploration and executive director at Alphamin Resources, which manages the Bisie tin mine in Congo’s North Kivu region, echoed that thought.
“Mining companies’ equities have been re-set practically across the globe and that does offer one a slightly lower barrier to entry… so absolutely our radars are out and (we) are scratching around wherever we think there may be some potential,” he said.
Among the biggest mining companies in Congo are Glencore, China Molybdenum, Barrick, AngloGold Ashanti, MMG Limited, Ivanhoe Mines, and Eurasian Resources Group.
