04 12 13 Bloomberg – Billionaire Gertler’s Congo Gold Deposit ‘World Class’ (1)

By | 04/12/2013 |

Moku-Beverendi, which borders Randgold Resources Ltd. and

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd.’s Kibali Gold project, is a joint venture

between Fleurette’s Basel, Switzerland-based Moku Goldmines AG

and Sokimo, a state-owned gold miner. Kibali may eventually

produce 550,000 ounces annually, according to Randgold’s

website. The $1.73 billion project has 11 million ounces of

reserves and 21 million in resources, the Jersey-based company

says.

“Moku-Beverendi has the potential to contain a world-class

deposit just as the Kibali Gold project does,” Fleurette said

in an e-mailed statement today. “The analysis shows the

potential for almost 5 million ounces of gold at a range of

average grades up to 6.25 grams” per metric ton.

Congo officially exported 78,351 ounces of gold last year,

according to Mines Ministry statistics. Production is set to

rise this year after Kibali Gold began output in September and

with Toronto-based Banro Corp.’s Twangiza project targeting more

than 100,000 ounces.

Congo plans to industrialize its gold industry to increase

revenue, improve control and end smuggling. Illicit trading in

gold has helped fuel years of conflict in eastern Congo.

Geosearch-SENEX Group, based in Johannesburg, performed the

first exploration phase for Moku, and the second phase will

begin in January, Fleurette said.

Family Matter

The company, based in the Netherlands and held for the

benefit of Gertler’s family trust, acquired Moku Goldmines in

2011 through a subsidiary and now holds a 97 percent stake,

according to the statement. Moku delisted from the Frankfurt

Stock Exchange in December 2012, a spokesman for Fleurette said

by e-mail.

Moku Gold holds 65 percent of the Moku-Beverendi project

and may invest a total of $51 million by the end of 2014, when

it expects to have a certifiable inferred resource figure,

according to Fleurette.

Gertler, an Israeli, began trading Congolese diamonds in

1997, and has since expanded his investments to include copper,

cobalt, and oil. He is partners with Glencore Xstrata Plc in

their Katanga Mining and Mutanda copper projects in Congo and is

currently worth $3 billion, according to the Bloomberg

Billionaires index.