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In September 2007 the DRC signed several agreements with the Chinese government for various infrastructure projects. The Chinese have committed more than $9 billion in exchange for access to commodities including copper and cobalt. Roughly $3 billion of this investment is for mine development; the other $6 billion will be used for infrastructure projects including the construction of 3200 km of railway tracks, 4000 km of roads, two hydroelectric dams, airports, schools and hospitals.
In May 2009 the DRC adapted the deal to appease the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The net result is that the $6 billion infrastructure investment will be split into two $3 billion tranches whereby second-phase deliveries will be considered only after completion of the first.
While there are critics of this deal and pundits who claim this is the “second colonisation” of the DRC, this barter deal is widely seen as a key catalyst to help jump start the economy and rebuild core infrastructure that has been neglected for decades.
Kilo is a primary beneficiary of some of this newly developed infrastructure including rehabilitated roads around its Somituri project.
We have just uploaded a short presentation that covers historical gold supply with an emphasis on African gold production. We also look at major gold deposits contained in greenstone belts and the potential of the Kilo Moto area in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a significant source of gold production in the future.
On slide 6 you will see a chart of gold output from other emerging gold producing countries in Africa including Ghana, Mali, and Tanzania. It is interesting to note that democratic elections and political reforms (including new mining codes) - milestones which have recently occured in the DRC - were precursors to political stability, foreign investment, and ultimately increased gold production in these countries.
We have just returned from Mining Indaba 2010 held at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. This show represents one of the most important mining conferences in the world and is well attended by over 3,500 individuals including key mining analysts, fund managers, investment specialists, and governments.
Kilo garnered much attention and interest from investment fund managers and several influencial mining analysts. Senior Kilo management including Klaus Eckhof (President and CEO), Peter Hooper (Executive Chairman), and Stanley Robinson (Geologist) also had an opportunity to meet with several existing shareholders, JV partners Rio Tinto, other potential partners operating in the DRC, DRC government officials, and many suppliers (both existing and prospective).
If this show is a barometer of the health of the mining industry and year to come, things are looking very good. As noted by Financial Times reporter Matthew Kennard who was in attendance at this year’s show … “My early impression is that the swagger (or at least a carefree jaunt) is back in the step of the great and good of the mining industry. Investors are also back and interested …”.
Robert McEwen, chairman and chief executive officer of U.S. Gold Corp. (also Founder and former CEO of Gold Corp.), talks with Bloomberg’s Erik Schatzker about the outlook for gold in 2010 and beyond. McEwen expects gold prices to hit $2000 before the end of 2010. In 2002 he boldly predicted gold would hit $800 in 7-9 years.
Here’s the rationale behind his latest prediction:
Gold is under-represented in the average investors’ portfolio and has been for the last 20+ years.
Gold has been the best performing asset in the last decade with it’s value increasing approximately 15% per year.
Gold in the past has been treated as a consumable primarily for the jewerly market. Today it is regarded as more of an alternative currency and one that has more legitimacy than fiat currencies controlled by governments that are printing money and going into massive debt (which will ultimately depreciate the value of these currencies).
We have just returned from a successful showing at the 2010 Vancouver Resource Investment Conference hosted by Cambridge House. According to show organizers about 9,000 people attended over two days.
Photo above: Peter Hooper (Executive Chairman) presenting Kilo’s story to a full room.
In addition to presenting at the conference, Kilo had a booth on the exhibit floor where we had an opportunity to meet with existing shareholders, prospective shareholders, analysts, fund managers, financial planners, and others involved in the industry.
As announced in late December last year, Kilo will commence drilling operations on the KGL Somituri property in Q1-2010. After several years without any flight traffic, Kilo has rehabilitated the 1.3 km landing strip in the small community of Nia-Nia, DRC. The airstrip is located to the southwest of Kilo’s initial drilling targets and will greatly improve the operational logistics of moving personnel and supplies to and from the Somituri project.
Welcome to the Kilo Goldmines blog. The main goal behind launching this blog is to keep our valued shareholders and other key constituents (analysts, brokers, media, etc.) updated between press releases. Contributors to this blog will include members of the Kilo Management Team and occasionally outside partners. Some of the initial topics we’ll be covering in the coming weeks include:
insights into Kilo’s operations and management team
updates on Kilo’s social responsibility projects
coverage of gold news and pricing projections
information about the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
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We welcome your feedback (good and bad) so if you have any comments or questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.
