• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.49-59
• /
• 2012

One of the world's top resource-rich countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has ample reserves of cobalt, iron ore, copper and diamond in particular. Importing most of major mineral resources, the Republic of Korea has examined-together with the Congo government since 2008-the possibility of a project where it supports port construction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and acquires useful minerals such as zinc, cobalt and copper in exchange through slag reprocessing in the local city of Lubumbashi. This study conducted feasibility analysis on the slag reprocessing project in Lubumbashi, Congo and found that the project's payback period stands at 6.7 years, net present value(NPV) at 34 million dollars and internal rate of return(IRR) at 17.4%. According to sensitivity analysis that takes into account uncertainties concerning taxation, fixed cost, operational cost and resource prices, the NPV of the project ranges from -24.8 million dollars to 92.7 million dollars.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
• /
• 2008.11a
• /
• pp.115-118
• /
• 2008

The promotion of overseas projects by construction enterprises has appeared as a way to overcome the current business difficulties of the Korean construction industry, which largely caused by the slow growth of the domestic market and the intensified competition among construction companies. The government has also shown considerable interests in the strategic approach of promoting construction projects by private companies in natural resource-rich countries, which helps the internationalization of Korean companies and the acouisition of natural resources. In this regard, this research examines the status of the construction market in the Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC) whose potential economic growth is considered as significant, while exploring the appropriate Investment strategies of Korean construction enterprise. Since little appears to be known about the construction market and economic conditions of the DRC, after a documented review of the development trajectory of the country, a field investigation was preformed in June 2008 for obtaining information on the subjects. This research finds that the road construction is the area to fulfill the several important criteria of implementing construction projects in developing regions, including the safety/reliability for gaining investment profits, the possibility of implementing construction projects on the gradual basis, the possibility of using the facilities after the project completion, and the linkage between payment and the construction stages. In regard to the current economic situation of the DRC and the policies of the DRC government, a package deal approach, which contains the exchange of the infrastructure construction by the Korean companies and the provision of natural resources by the DRC government, is the most feasible method for Korean companies to promote their businesses in the DRC's construction market.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.47 no.3
• /
• pp.255-263
• /
• 2014

Conflict minerals refer to minerals mined in conditions of armed conflict, especially as in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The common conflict minerals are cassiterite, wolframite, coltan(columbite-tantalite ore), and gold, which are mined and extracted from the Eastern Congo. These minerals are essentially used in the manufacture of a variety of devices, including consumer electronics. To end the violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in surrounding countries, it is necessary to block the supply route of conflict minerals which has been partially financed by the exploitation and trade of conflict minerals. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed into law in July 2010 and it contains requirements that U.S. companies report to the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) on the origin of conflict minerals and show due diligence of OECD. The goal of the act is to cut direct and indirect funding of armed groups engaged in conflict.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.252-261
• /
• 2022

Cobalt is a vital metal in the modern society because of its applications in lithium-ion batteries, super alloys, hard metals, and catalysts. Further, cobalt is a representative rare metal and is the 30th most abundant element in the Earth's crust. This study reviews the current status of cobalt extraction and recycling processes, along with the trends in its production amount and use. Although cobalt occurs in a wide range of minerals, such as oxides and sulfides of copper and nickel ores, the amounts of cobalt in the minerals are too low to be extracted economically. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) leads cobalt mining, and accounts for 68.9 % of the global cobalt reserves (142,000 tons in 2020). Cobalt is mainly extracted from copper-cobalt and nickel-cobalt concentrates and is occasionally extracted directly from the ore itself by hydro-, pyro-, and electro-metallurgical processes. These smelting methods are essential for developing new recycling processes to extract cobalt from secondary resources. Cobalt is mainly recycled from lithium-ion batteries, spent catalysts, and cobalt alloys. The recycling methods for cobalt also depend on the type of secondary cobalt resource. Major recycling methods from secondary resources are applied in pyro- and hydrometallurgical processes.