Adastra Minerals Inc (formerly America Mineral Fields Inc),
was a London-based mining company
["Adastra rejects First Quantum approach"](_blank)
'' Mining Journal'' (January 27, 2006)["First Quantum raises takeover bid for Adastra Minerals"](_blank)
''CBC News
CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca ...
'' (March 20, 2006)["Smaller stock to watch"](_blank)
''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' (May 2, 2006) with notable operations in central Africa (
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
,
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, and
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
), particularly in
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
,
cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, p ...
and
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
exploration. Adastra's properties and concessions were acquired in 2006 by
First Quantum Minerals
First Quantum Minerals is a Canadian-based mining and metals company whose principal activities include mineral exploration, development and mining. Its main product is copper, which accounts for 80% of revenues as of 2016.
First Quantum's com ...
for $245m in cash and stock, outpacing a counter-offer by
Mwana Africa plc
Asa Resources Group is a mining company based in Johannesburg and London. According to the company's website, it is the first African-owned and African-managed business to be listed in the Resources sector of the London Stock Exchange's Alternati ...
. Founder Jean-Raymond Boulle and top UK insurer Prudential plc had owned 10% and 14% stakes in Adastra, respectively.
In the mid-1990s, the company became known for developing highly prospective copper and cobalt mines in Zaire during a civil war.
History
American Mineral Fields
American Mineral Fields (AMF) was founded in 1995 to "develop diamond interests" in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
by Mike McMurrough and
Jean-Raymond Boulle.
American Mineral Fields was based in
Hope, Arkansas
Hope is a city in Hempstead County in southwestern Arkansas, United States. Hope is the county seat of Hempstead County and the principal city of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Hempstead and Nevada counties. As of t ...
and operated from
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
It was the "brainchild" of Boulle, a former executive at
De Beers Diamonds in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
.
It was chaired by McMurrough, described as a personal friend of
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
.
Early on, it operated as a penny-stock company listed in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
on the
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and
Toronto stock exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in the ...
s, but "lacked sufficient capital to develop mines on its own."
In 1996, when it was listed on the
Toronto Stock Exchange
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in the ...
for the first time, The
Robertson Stephens Orphan Fund was among its largest shareholders.
In 1996, AMF was trading on the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
, with a capitalization of US $37 billion.
Military financing in Africa
AMFI had become involved in politics in the Congo
by 1996, when
Mobutu Sese Seko was the
President of Zaire
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...
, five years before he was deposed.
Overall, the representatives of AMFI signed three agreements to equal the $1 billion dollar deal for "the extraction of copper and cobalt in Kolwezi, cobalt in Kipushi, and the construction of a factory for the treatment of zinc in Kipushi." In Kisangani, AMF acquired an office to buy diamonds. In Lubumbashi, AMFI gave an "advance" of $51 million to finance their war and secure a date for future transactions.
The deal was later cancelled in 1998 by Congo's state mining company
Gecamines.
AMFI financed the
Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo
The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFLC; french: Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre; AFDL) was a coalition of Rwandan, Ugandan, Burundian, and Congolese dissidents, disgruntl ...
(ADFL)'s military campaign to depose Mobutu, by providing its corporate jet to ADFL leader
Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Laurent-Désiré Kabila () (27 November 1939 – 18 January 2001) or simply Laurent Kabila ( US: ), was a Congolese revolutionary and politician who was the third President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassinatio ...
, and was awarded a mine contract by Kabila even before he came to power.
In 1996, American Mineral Fields acquired Zairean mineral deposits using the state-owned mining company
Gecamines.
Main AMF shareholder Jean-Raymonde Boulle signed the contract in mid April 1996 in Zaire, calling the change “the triumphant liberation of the people of Zaire.
In particular, a copper-zinc mine at Kapushi in Shaba province was acquired, with reserves known to "stand at 22.6 million tons of copper and zinc, grading 2.1 per cent copper and 13.8 per cent zinc." It was later revealed that acquisition was done partly for the
Anglo-American Corporation
Anglo American plc is a British listed multinational mining company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper, n ...
, with the two companies signing an agreement.
This occurred before AFDL rebels captured Kinshasa.
Around this time, AFDL rebels also extended a $60 billion contract to construct an orbital platform, beating out bidders from 60 other countries.
In April 1997,
with the signing of a $1 billion deal with Zairian rebels looking to topple dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, Bouule was promised the right to a mine in the city of Kolwezi.
Kabila marched on the Zaire capital a month later, with American Mineral Fields getting one of the first mining contracts in the newly renamed Democratic Republic of Congo.
In March 1997, When Kisangani fell to the AFDL, AMFI set up an office in
Goma
Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the ...
to make contact with Kabila, trading under the initials AMZ.
The company signed deals with rebel leaders in the Republic of Congo in 1997, and in 1998, the $1 billion Kolwezi project was cancelled, with AMF blaming Anglo American for "interfering in its dealings with Gecamines and the Congo government."
On January 2, 1998, AMFI's contract for the Kolwezi tailings was cancelled by the Kabila regime.
A week later, AMFI sued Anglo American Corp. for $3 billion for "allegedly interfering with its Congo deal"
over a contract,
filing the lawsuit in a Dallas court.
In March 1998,
American Mineral and Anglo American ended their legal and instead began creating a joint venture
to jointly develop the Kolwezi project, and were still negotiating in July 1998 for the rights from the Congo government.
As of 2003, the company had projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola. On September 26, 2020, it listed on the Alternative Investment Market in London, a secondary listing. It also had a primary listing on the Toronto stock exchange, and had just raised $15 million there in an open offer, with the money to be used to "carry out a feasibility study at two tailings dams at the Kolwezi copper and cobalt project in the Congo."
Adastra Minerals
Adastra Minerals in 2004 contracted a "definitive feasibility study" on the DRC Kolwezi cobalt/copper tailings project to a joint venture of
Murray & Roberts
Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd. is a South African-based engineering and mining contractor. It is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange. The Group delivers its capabilities into three global primary market sectors the resources, industrial, ene ...
and GRD Minproc.
["Contract awarded for Kolwezi feasibility study"](_blank)
''Mining Weekly
''Mining Weekly'' is South Africa’s premier source of weekly news on mining developments in Africa’s most important industry. ''Mining Weekly'' provides in-depth coverage of mining projects & the personalities reshaping the mining industry. ...
'' (August 20, 2004) It was still being finalized in the middle of 2005.
In 2004, Adastra Minerals rejected a buyout offer by First Quantum.
In 2005, the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
subsidiary The
International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries. The IFC is a member of ...
was considering taking a ten percent stake in a project owned by Adastra Minerals. Adastra had formerly been known as American Mineral Fields.
["World Bank"](_blank)
Rosie Murray West, ''The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' (May 9, 2005)
Also in 2005, Adastra Minerals was still involved in copper and cobalt, and its "$300m Kolwezi cobalt and copper tailings deposit in Democratic Republic of Congo is attracting a high level of interest from South African financiers." At that point, Adastra's Kolwezi project had secured a 7.5% ownership stake from the International Finance Corporation, and 10% owned by Industrial Development Corporation in South Africa.
In January 2006,
First Quantum Minerals
First Quantum Minerals is a Canadian-based mining and metals company whose principal activities include mineral exploration, development and mining. Its main product is copper, which accounts for 80% of revenues as of 2016.
First Quantum's com ...
in Canada made a hostile bid
to acquire Adastra Minerals, with the bid rejected
for being too low.
In late April 2006, a second bid was put forward by
Mwana Africa, with that bid rejected as well.
By 2006, the company was owner of the Kolwezi project as the as a "Kipushi copper and zinc mine."
The Kolwezi mine at the time as the "world's largest cobalt and copper surface resource," in the form of waste material from a former mine. It was expected to "produce 5,500 tonnes per year of cobalt and 30,000 tonnes of copper."
After agreeing to a revised bid, in May 2006, First Quantum Minerals acquired Adastra Minerals "in a cash-and-shares deal worth about C$275 million (£135 million)."
First Quantum said it would like Adastra on the London Stock Exchange. At the time, Adastra was based in
London, England
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
and developing mineral assets in Central Africa, particularly mining operations in Zambia, Mauritania and Congo.
After the acquisition, First Quantum again had gained control of the Kolwezi mine, committing to invest a new $600 million in the project.
Notable personnel
*
Jean-Raymond Boulle, founder; owned 10% stake at time of acquisition by First Quantum.
* Former
United States President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
George H. W. Bush was until 2006 named a member of the international advisory board.
References
{{reflist
External links
First Quantum Minerals
Copper mining companies of the United Kingdom
Defunct companies based in London