Last week Katanga Mining placed orders for several key components necessary for the continued development and rehabilitation of the Kamoto mine. Agreement has been reached with Atlas Copco to supply Kamoto Copper with the primary mining fleet required to restart the Kamoto mine. The contract is valued at $13.3 million. Katanga says it “is pleased to note that the cost of the mining fleet is lower than the budgeted amount as contemplated in the feasibility study.

Units are scheduled to begin arriving on site March 2007 ahead of the required start-up of the mine. This order comprises four Rocket Boomer 282 face drilling rigs,four Boltec H235s for roof support, four ST1520, 15 t Scooptrams, and six MT5010 Mine Trucks.

The joint venture also entered into an (EPCM) agreement with Hatch Fluidization Technology Group for the supply of two 4 t/d industrial copper concentrate roasters. These roasters will not be required until a year after the start of production. The roasters are key components in Katanga ultimately producing in excess of 150,000 t/y of copper and 5,000 t/y of cobalt. Engineering will begin immediately and the first roaster is expected to be operational in mid 2008.

The company’s progress in bringing the Kamoto/Dima project into production is on track and all site work is proceeding satisfactorily. Katanga Mining says it “is staged to become a premier copper and cobalt producer through its investment in the long-lived, high-grade Kamoto mine, located in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. For over 70 years, the Katanga Province has been an important producer of copper and cobalt to the world markets. www.katangamining.com