FACTBOX-Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo

March 20 (Reuters) - Congo's mines review panel recommended
steps on Thursday to overhaul the country's minerals sector
after years of war and neglect, including renegotiating several
major mining contracts.

These are the main companies with mines and projects in the
Congo:

ANGLO AMERICAN (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research) (AGLJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research)

The world's fourth biggest mining group by market
capitalisation has opened offices in the capital Kinshasa as
well as the city of Lubumbashi in the country's copper belt.

Anglo will be exploring in Congo and at least seven other
African nations to look for large base metals deposits. Chief
Executive Cynthia Carroll said in February the company would
jack up its exploration budget on the continent by 30 percent
this year.

AFRICO RESOURCES (ARL.TO: Quote, Profile, Research)

Canadian company Africo is seeking to develop the Kalukundi
copper-cobalt project, but its ownership of the project has been
disputed by Akam Mining.

In September, the firm said Congo's justice minister
supported its ownership position and in November the IFC, the
World Bank's private sector investment arm, said it planned to
buy C$4 million in Africo shares to help finance the project.

ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI (ANGJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research)

The world's third-biggest gold producer has been drilling
for gold at Mongbwalu in northeastern Ituri since 2005.

AngloGold said in February that it had completed a
conceptual economic study for the deposit, which has an initial
inferred resource of 2.9 million ounces of gold.

ANVIL MINING (AVM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (AVM.AX: Quote, Profile, Research)

Anvil has majority stakes in three mines in Katanga province
that produce copper and silver -- Kinsevere, Dikulushi and Kulu.

In January, Anvil forecast a 10 percent rise in 2008 copper
output but a big drop in silver production as it announced
record 2007 production. It said it expects to produce more than
55,000 tonnes of copper and 1.3 million ounces of silver in
2008. The company aims to increase output to 100,000 tonnes of
copper by 2010.

BANRO CORPORATION (BAA.TO: Quote, Profile, Research)

Toronto-listed Banro has four gold properties comprising 13
exploitation permits in the South Kivu and Maniema provinces.

Measured and indicated resources across the Twangiza,
Kamituga, Lugushwa and Nomaya properties total 4.81 million
ounces of gold.

BHP BILLITON (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research)(BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research)

BHP, the world's largest diversified miner, is exploring for
copper and diamonds in Congo.

Last year, it also said it was in the "early stages" of
looking at an aluminium smelter project in the country.

CHINA SUN GROUP (CSGH.OB: Quote, Profile, Research)

The China Sun Group, formerly known as Capaital Resource
Funding Corp, signed a contract last year to buy the prospecting
and mining rights to a cobalt mine in Lubumbashi.

It signed the deal through its subsidiary Dalian Xinyang
High-Tech Development (DLX), one of the largest Chinese cobalt
producers.

DLX will own 80 percent of the mined cobalt and Shengbao
Group will own the remainder. DLX plans to launch construction
of a processing plant in early 2008 to produce finished cobalt
products from raw ore on-site, the firm said.

CENTRAL AFRICAN MINING AND EXPLORATION CO (CAMEC) (CFM.L: Quote, Profile, Research)

The firm said in February it had restarted production at the
Mukondo Mountain mine, which it says is the richest cobalt mine
in the world.

In March, CAMEC said it had reached a deal to give state-run
mining group Gecamines a 30 percent stake in the mine, retaining
the remaining 70 percent. It aims for output of 1,000 tonnes per
month by the end of 2008.

It is also targeting production of 40,000 tonnes copper and
6,000 tonnes cobalt from its Luita processing plant by the end
of March 2008, rising to 100,000 tonnes of copper and 12,000
tonnes cobalt by the end of that year.

CHEMAF

The privately-owned Congolese company which owns the licence
for the Etoile mine, estimated to hold 682,041 tonnes of copper
and 108,951 tonnes of cobalt, and the yet unworked Makala
deposit.

It also controls the Kananga concession in joint venture
with state miner Gecamines and has said it wants to begin
industrial mining operations at the Makala and Kananga mines.

It owns a cobalt processing plant in Lubumbashi and also
plans a facility to produce copper cathode.

COPPER RESOURCES CORP (CRC.L: Quote, Profile, Research)

Copper Resources holds a 75 percent stake in the three MMK
deposits, which together contain an estimated 5.3 billion lbs of
copper. South African Metorex (MTXJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research) owns 45.6 percent of CRC.

The Kinsenda and Musoshi mines were first mined from 1968,
but were abandoned and are flooded. A bankable feasibility study
estimated that the Kinsenda project would cost $93 million in
financing. Lubembe is a greenfields exploration property.

FIRST QUANTUM (FM.TO: Quote, Profile, Research)(FQM.L: Quote, Profile, Research)

The company said in January it expects its new Frontier
copper mine, which launched operations late in 2007, to produce
84,000 tonnes in 2008.

First Quantum plans to start production from its Kolwezi
copper-cobalt tailings project in Katanga in early 2010, which
could produce up to 70,000 tonnes of copper and 14,000 tonnes of
cobalt a year at a capital cost of $593 million.

In November 2007, the Congo government banned the firm from
transporting ore from its Lonshi mine in the DRC over the border
to the Bwana treatment plant in Zambia. In February, the firm
said the border remained closed.

FREEPORT MCMORAN COPPER & GOLD (FCX.N: Quote, Profile, Research)

Freeport acquired a 57.75 percent stake in the Tenke
Fungurume copper and cobalt project, one of the world's largest,
when it bought Phelps Dodge for $25.9 billion in 2007.

It has targeted production of 115,000 tonnes copper and
8,000 tonnes cobalt per year in 2009, which could rise to
400,000 and 30,000 respectively by 2015.

KATANGA MINING (KAT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research)

Katanga agreed a friendly deal in November 2007 worth over
$2.0 billion to buy rival Nikanor to create Africa's biggest
copper producer by 2011, combining copper/cobalt projects the
two firms had been developing in the same area of the copperbelt
near the town of Kolwezi.

The combined company aims to produce 400,000 tonnes of
copper and 40,000 tonnes of cobalt a year by 2011.

LUNDIN MINING (LUN.TO: Quote, Profile, Research)

Lundin owns a 24.75 percent stake in the Tenke Fungurume
copper-cobalt deposit in the DRC, majority-owned by Freeport
McMoRan.

METOREX (MTXJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research)

Johannesburg-listed Metorex has an 80 percent stake in
Ruashi Mining, which has the rights the process the ore
stockpiles on the Ruashi and Etoile mines, and the right to
exploit the Ruashi orebody. Gecamines owns 20 percent of the
company.

Metorex plans to launch copper production by March 2008 and
produce 45,000 tonnes of copper cathode and 3,500 tonnes of
contained cobalt per year.

Metorex also has a 45.6 percent stake in Copper Resources
Corp, which has projects in the DRC.

MOTO GOLDMINES (MGL.TO: Quote, Profile, Research)(MGLq.L: Quote, Profile, Research)

The firm is seeking to develop the Moto gold project in a
joint venture with Congo's state-owned gold company OKIMO, which
has a 30 percent stake in the project and holds the mineral
rights.

The project has indicated mineral resources of 10.3 million
ounces of gold and a definitive feasibility study was completed
in December 2007, which the firm said demonstrated the project's
long life.

Moto said in February that the government has requested a
renegotiation of its mining contracts and that it would hold
discussions with OKIMO.

MWANA AFRICA (MWA.L: Quote, Profile, Research)

London-listed Mwana, formerly African Gold, owns 80 percent
of Kilo Moto, an exploration licence for gold in the northeast
of the country.

Last year, it took over Gravity Diamonds, which is exploring
a large diamond concession in Kasai province.

In 2006, it bought Umicore ACUMt.BR subsidiary Sibeka,
owner of a 20 percent stake in DRC diamond miner MIBA, which
produces an average of 6 million carats of diamonds per year.

It also owns the Katanga copper concessions, which is
subject to a joint venture exploration option agreement with
Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research).

OM GROUP (OMG.N: Quote, Profile, Research)

U.S. based speciality chemicals maker OM Group is majority
owner of the Big Hill cobalt smelter in Lubumbashi. After
smelting in the Congo, cobalt is sent to OMG's refinery in
Kokkola, Finland. Other partners in the smelter are Gecamines
and George Forrest Group.

TEAL EXPLORATION AND MINING (TL.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) (TELJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research)

Teal is operating the Kalumines copper and cobalt mine, of
which it has a 60 percent stake. In February it said the mine
was targeting 24,500 tonnes per year of contained copper.

The firm plans a feasibility study late in 2008 to boost
output to 40,000 tonnes a year. It also has a furnace that
produces 5,000 tonnes a year of blister copper.

(Sources: Reuters, company websites, stock exchange
announcements)