Hwange seeks to consolidate DRC market

opportunities abroad in line with its export drive.
The DRC market remains one of Hwange’s biggest export markets, accounting for the bulk of the company’s revenue from coke exports.
A delegation from Hwange, led by managing director Mr Fred Moyo, was in the DRC’s copper-rich province of Katanga where the company sells most of its coke to copper and cobalt firms – to evaluate opportunities that the company could exploit to increase exports.

The delegation visited a number of its clients, who generally agreed to enhance business in the spirit of Comesa regional integration.
Firms visited include Gecamines, which used to consume more than 30 percent of Hwange’s coke in the early ’90s. Gecamines has since embarked on a five-year reconstruction plan.
Mr Moyo said he believed if the DRC market was properly captured, Hwange could supply in excess of two million tonnes of coke a year.

“The DRC remains one of our biggest trading partner on the coke side and this visit gave us an opportunity to discuss with our customers areas in which we can enhance business,” said Mr Moyo.
“DRC is an important market and if properly captured we can supply about 2 million tonnes of coke annually. That is our view of consolidating the market. Their copper industry is growing and we would like to enhance our presence,” added Mr Moyo.

With several significant expansion plans announced in the DRC, it looks as if the country’s mining sector has turned its back on its troubled past.
In terms of growth potential, the industry is one of the most attractive in sub-Saharan Africa with the sector forecast to expand by almost 70 percent in value terms between 2011 and 2015.
Analysts forecast the sector to reach a value of US$8,3 billion by 2015, representing an annual average growth of 13,7 percent over the period.

“(The) Scramble for copper assets in the DRC’s extensive copper mining deposits is hotting up,” according to a report by Business Monitor International.
“With several firms expected to inaugurate new ventures over the next few years, we forecast overall copper output in the DRC to grow at an annual average of 12,2 percent between 2010 and 2015.”

Hwange marketing manager Mr Charles Zhou said efforts were being directed at consolidating the DRC market and also further exploring new opportunities within the southern Africa region and abroad.
He said that while the focal points were DRC and Zambia, the company was also looking for new markets.

“The DRC and Zambia are our key markets for our coke products but we are also looking overseas,” he said.