UAE buys controlling stake from US firm in Congolese tin mine

CONTROL of a major source of the world’s tin supply has been sold by a US-based firm to a company owned by a member of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government.  

Alphamin Resources, the Canada-based company that operates the Bisie tin mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), announced this week that majority shareholder Tremont Master Holdings, a subsidiary of US-based Denham Capital, sold a 56% stake in the mine to UAE-based International Resources Holding (IRH) for US$367m.

IRH is owned by a conglomerate controlled by UAE national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, brother of the UAE’s president and considered one of Abu Dhabi’s most powerful royals. IRH said the acquisition was to strengthen its position in the global industrial metals sector.

The Bisie mine produces around 6% of the world’s tin supply – a metal essential for solder, polymer catalysts, PVC stabilisers, tinplate for food and drink cans, bronze, and lead-acid batteries. Tin is also deemed a “critical mineral” by many governments and is used to make anodes in lithium-ion batteries and thermoelectric materials such as tin selenide, while liquid tin is used in blue hydrogen production and as an electrode in fuel cells. Tin can also be used as a catalyst in carbon capture. The Bisie mine, in the country’s northeastern province of North-Kivu, produced more than 17,000 t of the metal last year, seen as some of the highest-grade in the world.

The DRC had proposed a minerals-for-security deal to the US government, according to Reuters, which the Trump administration had responded positively to by floating billions of dollars of investment in the war-torn country. Talks occurred in April between US and DRC officials in Kinshasa, a month after the Bisie mine was forced to close when an armed militia, widely believed to be backed by the Rwandan government, took control of the nearby town of Walikale. The rebels withdrew following the US-DRC talks and Bisie reopened. Reuters reported that following a major surge in global tin prices caused by the mine’s closure, prices subsequently fell 8.3% when it reopened.

Global tin production is currently dominated by China, Myanmar and Indonesia, which are responsible for around two-thirds of total supply. Ali Alrashdi, CEO of IRH, said: “Alphamin’s strong production profile aligns with our strategy of securing interests in high-quality mining assets with long-term growth potential.”

Rob Still, chair of Tremont Master Holdings, said: “Following Tremont’s 12-year history in exploring, evaluating and then building and operating the Bisie mine, we are now pleased to transfer our ownership stake to another long-term investor who shares our vision for the operation and our commitment to the region.”