CHINA Molybdenum Co. said yesterday it had acquired a 95 percent stake in the Kisanfu copper-cobalt mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan Inc. for US$550 million.

The Chinese company’s takeover of the undeveloped Kisanfu project, discussed as early as 2016, boosts its reserves in the DRC, the world’s top producer of battery metal cobalt, where China Moly already operates the giant Tenke Fungurume mine.

The acquisition, by China Moly unit Natural Resource Elite Investment Ltd., was approved by the Luoyang-based company’s investment committee Dec. 1 and was completed Friday U.S. time, a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange said.

Kisanfu, which is around 33 kilometers (20.5 miles) southwest of Tenke Fungurume, holds an estimated 6.28 million tons of copper and 3.1 million tons of cobalt metal, said the filing, which mentioned synergies with China Moly’s other business in the DRC.

The government of the DRC holds the other 5 percent in the mine. (SD-Agencies)