| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
Renova Will Dig Up Gabon
// without the help of the locals
Viktor Vekselberg’s Renova Group discovered a new project to invest into. Renova Investments Gabon SARL received Gabon authorities’ permission to search for manganese, platinum, uranium, and gold. Gaining access to Gabon’s resources was much easier than to those of South Africa who obliged Renova to involve local partners.
According to Renova spokesman Andrey Shtorkh, Renova Investments Gabon SARL was registered in Gabon’s capital Libreville as rep office of Renova Investments Ltd. (Renova’s subsidiary that oversees the companies business in South Africa). Renova soon begins to look for new minefields in south-eastern Gabon. Andrey Shtorkh estimates primary search costs at about $500,000. The whole search process might require from $5 to 10 million.
The Gabonese Republic is located in west central Africa. It borders on Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon in the north, Republic of the Congo in the south-east, and the Gulf of Guinea. It was established in 1960 when it became independent from France. Its area is 267,700 square kilometres, population is 1.389 million people. The capital is Libreville, the official language is French. Gabon produces coffee and cocoa, sugar, palm-oil. It extracts oil (nearly 265,000 barrels a day), manganese, gold. GDP in 2005 was $7.3 billion (grew by 0.77 percent). Export in 2004 was $3.71 billion, import -- $1.23 billion.
Renova believes Gabon gives it the opportunity to expand its manganese business in Africa. Renova began to develop the continent in 2005. Renova plans to search for metals of platinum group and for manganese ore in South Africa in Kalahari desert. Viktor Vekselberg even joined the international investment council for South Africa President Tabo Mbeki. Renova had to create a joint venture with the locals to gain access to South Africa’s depths. In this joint venture, United Manganese of Kalahari, 51 percent of shares belong to Africans, and the rest—to Renova’s subsidiary, Renova Manganese Investments. Kommersant’s sources state that Renova received no privileges from this cooperation.
In Gabon it is much easier—Renova Investments Gabon SARL does not need African partners to search for and extract manganese, gold, platinum, and uranium.Renova does not mention the total amount of investments into Africa, saying that it is impossible to count it now. Kommersant's sources say that only the manganese project will require $300 million.
Maria Cherkasova
All the Article in Russian as of May 17, 2006
|
|
|
