Uganda said on Tuesday it was inviting investors to restart a large copper mine in the west of the country. The mine also has large amounts of cobalt.
The Kilembe mine is located in the foothills of the snow-covered Rwenzori mountains, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Kilembe mine is estimated by government geologists to contain about 4 million tonnes of ore with a copper content of 1.98% and cobalt of 0.17%.
We have invited companies to express interest in working with the government through a mineral production-sharing agreement, Uganda's ministers of finance and mines said in a joint statement. The redevelopment of the Kilembe mine will have a catalytic effect to promote industrialization, provide a large number of jobs and increase income."
But the statement did not specify when the government expected to select investors.
Production at the mine began in 1956 and peaked at 18,000 tons of cathode copper per year in the early 1970s before the Canadian Firm Falconbridge halted operations because of low copper prices and political instability.
Since then, the mine has been largely abandoned.
The Kilembe project now includes a newly developed exploration area, a brownfield copper mine, a processing plant, a small hydropower plant and cobalt-rich tailings, the ministers said in their statement.
The Ugandan government has tried and failed to restart the mine because of the downturn in commodity markets and the collapse of a deal with Chinese investors in 2013. After years of slow progress and missed targets, the deal was eventually called off.
But copper prices hit an all-time high earlier this year on supply concerns and investors are looking for new sources of the metal used in electric vehicles.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is eager to expand the development of the country's mineral resources, including gold, base metals, uranium, rare earths, iron, titanium, vermiculite and diamonds, to help fuel economic growth.
