politicacomment
David Barouski – 4.11. 2008 — Most people who became aware of the 2nd Congo War (1998-2003) did so because of the violence unleased in the (then) Ituri District, which was created in June of 1999 by General James Kazini of the Ugandan People’s Defense Force (UPDF). After the Lusaka Accords were signed and the UPDF officially pulled out of the country, the neighboring countries of Uganda and Rwanda aggravated and exploited ethnic differences to create numerous militias that went to war over the vast gold tracts in Ituri.
The illegal sale of this gold in neighboring countries served to fund the war by purchasing arms, military uniforms, and other supplies. Incomprehensable acts of violence and rape occurred, and child soldiers were the norm. Today, with the aid of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), Ituri has found a relative peace and only small pockets of militas remain.
Ituri is unique compared to the Kivu provinces to the south because throughout the 1st Congo War (1996-1997) to the present day, war over minerals has always been about gold and timber. The rest of Northeastern Congo went through several distict phases where one particular commodity was more sought after than another. When the 2nd Congo War (1998-2003) broke out, diamonds were the most coveted mineral until about mid-2000.
In 2000, the coltan (columbium-tantalite) boom occurred due to increased military-industrial spending on vehicles and equipment for smaller, more mobile armies; the arrival of popular mass-consumption electronics (the cell phone boom, Sony Playstation, etc.); and the globalization process, which included vastly expanded markets and the rapid development ofthe telecommunicatons industry and other technologies, all of which drastically increased market demand for coltan. What started off in 1999 as a $20 (U.S.) per pound commodity rose to $380 (U.S.) per pound by December of 2000. With 80% of the world’s coltan reserves, fierce fighting for the DRC’s mining sites claimed countless innocent victims.1 The world market reserves quickly became so saturated with smuggled coltan that the price plummeted back down by the end of 2001 due to over-supply. This was particularly true after the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) released the excess coltan from the U.S. reserves.
After the coltan boom ended, a proxy war between Uganda and Rwanda took place in the Ituri District in the northeast corner of the DRC. The wars were faught over the lucrative gold reserves found in the center of the district. This corner of the country saw some of the worst fighting of the 2nd Congo War. Prior to, and during both wars, multinational corporations sought to exploit the same gold mining areas in Ituri that the various militias did. The mines are primarily concentrated around the towns of Mongbwalu, Watsa, Durba, Kilo, and Moto in very remote areas. Today, with some likeness of peace, the political fight for control of the concessions will begin anew. The Deputy Minister of Mines, Victor Kasongo, has begun a review of the mining contracts for the newly elected Congolese Government and he said 50% of the contracts may be voided.2 A number of the concessions in Ituri are under scrutiny. All official negotiations for mining rights have ended until all the contracts have been reviewed. This could prove to be troublesome for both the Congolese Government and the mining companies.
The mining concession that includes the Watsa/Durba area (OKIMO Concession #38) was obtained by the giant Canadian gold-mining firm Barrick Gold from the Office of Kilo-Moto (OKIMO) on 3rd August, 1996 before the fall of (then) President Joseph Mobutu Sese Seko. OKIMO, the state-owned gold mining company, became a joint partner in Barrick’s project. Barrick initially became interested in the concession after the U.S.-based consulting firm Davy McKee Corporation completed a successful feasibility study of the area in 1991. Between October and December of 1996, while war was raging in the area southwest of the concession, Barrick completed several of their own exploratory drills, but the results were less promising than the reports OKIMO gave the company. In 1996, Barrick also made a side deal with General Kpama Baramoto, head of President Mobutu’s notorious Guarde Civile. General Baramoto allowed Barrick to mine gold around his base in Bunia in exchange for funds to rebuild Bunia’s collapsing airport.3
Barrick restructured their mining contract after the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL-CZ) headed by Laurent Kabila took power in 1997, and they successfully retained the mining rights to Concession #38. They reportedly began these negotiations before L. Kabila reached the capital city of Kinshasa.4 Barrick was allowed to keep the contract President Mobutu Sese Seko signed after Laurent Kabila took power because L. Kabila’s Finance Minister Mawampanga Mwana Nanga (who later became Minister of Agriculture) insisted he honor „good faith“ contracts between President Mobutu and certain foreign mining firms. This was an unusual move because Minister Nanga was known to be a staunch critic of foreign mining firms. He had already canceled the mining contracts of Belgium’s Union Minère (now Umicore) and DeBeers/Anglo-American despite strong protests from Nelson Mandela. However, Minister Nanga apparently had a soft spot for American-connected firms, perhaps because he graduated from Pennsylvania State University and taught at Kentucky University.5
Minister Nanga urged AFDL-CZ’s Mining Minister Kambale Kabila Mututulo to sign off a one billion dollar (U.S.) deal to Jean-Raymond Boulle’s Hope, Arkansas-based (at the time) American Mineral Fields Incorporated (AMF) (now Adastra), one of Barrick’s business partners. The deal was for two huge mining concessions in Kipushi and Kolwezi, located in the Katanga Province (then Shaba Province). Mr. Boulle desperately needed access to the minerals because he was bidding to acquire the contract to build a new space station to replace Mir, a $60 billion dollar (U.S.) endeavor. His acquisition of the Mir contract is remarkable when considering AMF was only incorporated in 1995.6
A major competitor of Anglo-American with several former Anglo-American/DeBeers directors on its executive team, AMF already had the deal lined up in April 1997 after Mr. Boulle (a Briton born in Mauritius) visited L. Kabila in Goma after the AFDL-CZ/RPA captured Lubumbashi (Katanga Province) and put Katangan Governor Kyungu ku Mwanza under house arrest.7 Mr. Boulle reportedly fronted $50 million dollars (U.S.) to L. Kabila for the deal and he likely used some of it to buy arms and equipment.8 However, AMF did eventually partner with Anglo-American.
American Diamond Buyers, another company owned by Mr. Boulle and Joseph Martin (and a competitor of DeBeers), reportedly paid L. Kabila $25,000 (U.S.) to buy a diamond mining license from the AFDL-CZ.9 When the company opened for business in Kisangani before the 1st Congo War was even over (but after the ADFL-CZ controlled the town), Zairians literally broke the door down to sell their diamonds. Several people could even be seen around town wearing tee-shirts given out for free by the company.10
Mr. Boulle (a former Anglo-American executive who also acted as an advisor to Guinea’s Mining Minister) also allowed L. Kabila and Minister Nanga to use his personal corporate Lear jet for transportation around the country. In return, besides the mining contracts, L. Kabila allowed Mr. Boulle to set up a trading post in Mbuji-Mayi immediately after the AFDL-CZ captured the city during the same month Lubumbashi fell. He also greatly reduced the price of AMF’s annual mining license fees.11 Mr. Boulle and two other connections to AMF at the time, Chairman Michael McMurrough and business associate Jackson Stephens, were reported to be friends of Bill Clinton since his days as Arkansas‘ governor.12
One week before the AFDL-CZ took Kinshasa, AMF chartered a group of investors to meet L. Kabila. Mr. Boulle hoped to attract investors for his new mining projects. Representatives from CIBC Wood Gundy, Bunting Warburg (a branch of London’s SBC Warburg), First Bank of Boston, Citibank, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, and Goldman Sachs attended along with several reporters, Robert Briscotti (investment banker), Robin Sanders (Director of African Affairs for the NSC), and Cynthia McKinney (former U.S. Congresswoman for the State of Georgia).13 The meeting went over well. Washington D.C. based New Millenium Investment Limited signed a joint venture deal with the AFDL-CZ to run Goma’s Development Bank. Bethesda, Maryland-based Comsat signed on to sell satellite phones in Goma.14
Almost immediately after AMF got its mingin contract with the AFDL-CZ, DeBeers sent the head of its Kinshasa branch (Nicholas Davenport) and an Anglo-American director to meet with L. Kabila and Minister Mawampanga in Goma to plead for a contract. Under the Mobutu regime, DeBeers held a 4% stake in MIBA while its Central Selling Organization had rights to the entire Zairian state production. DeBeers also had five comptoirs in Zaire that bought from artisian miners.15
DeBeers was also deeply entrenched in Zaire through Anglo-American Corporation (which is nearly 50% owned by DeBeers), one of its business partners. The Canadian company Banro Corporation merged with Belgium-based Mines D’or Du Zaire (MDDZ) in September 1996 shortly before President Mobutu left Zaire in exile. A ~13% shareholder in Banro was U.K.-based Cluff Mining. The majority shareholder in Cluff Mining was Anglo-American.16 Through the MDDZ merger, Banro was able to obtain a 93% interest in SAKIMA.17 Today, Banro is actively mining gold in Twangiza, Kamituga, Lugushwa, and Namoya in South Kivu.
Another company who wanted in on the action was First Quantum Minerals. Their Bwana Mkubwa branch fronted money to Laurent Kabila when he was with the AFDL-CZ and had not yet reached Kinshasa. They received mining authorizations in return.18
First Quantum recently tried to buy out Adastra (formerly AMF) and still holds lucrative concessions in the Congo. On their Board of Directors sits Chairman Phillip Pascall (Rio Tinto), Rupert Pennant-Rea (Chairman of Henderson Group plc; Director of British American Tobacco plc, Sherrit International Corporation, Gold Fields Limited, and Rio Narcea; former editor for The Economist and the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England), and Andrew Adams (AngloGold).
Barrick created a joint-venture with Anglo-American in March 1998 to explore OKIMO Concession #38 in preparation for active mining. In 1998, Anglo-American created its AngloGold Limited subsidiary and in May 1998, the firm purchased nearly half of Barrick’s stakes in the Congo.19 Exploration occurred from February to August 1998 but their staff was forced to flee in August due to the outbreak of the 2nd Congo War. AngloGold Limited assumed operational control of Concession # 38 on 5 August, 1998, but they were never able to actively mine the concession because of the war. OKIMO repossessed the land after they fled.20 After OKIMO reclaimed the concession, Barrick made a side deal with RCD Mining Minister Alex Thambwe in 1999 for the rights to mine the land, but Barrick was unable to mine on the land because of the ongoing war on the mining concessions in Ituri.21
After the 2nd Congo War began, the UPDF and the Rally for Congolese Democracy-Liberation Movement (RCD-ML) occupied Watsa until they withdrew as a provision of the Lusaka Accords in 1999. Militias in Ituri multiplied drastically in 2000 to seize control of the power void left behind when the UPDF withdrew. Barrick Gold sub-contracted its concession to Uganda’s Caleb International, owned by General Salim Saleh, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s half-brother.22 It appears the intent was to hold and protect the concession for Barrick until the fighting stopped. Meanwhile, the Hema Union for Congolese Patriots (UPC), RCD-ML, Jean-Pierre Bemba’s Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), the Lendu Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI), People’s Armed Forces of Congo (FAPC), and various other factions fought over Watsa and Durba until most of them either disarmed or were driven out by MONUC/FARDC offensives last year. The MLC moved into the area until mid-2006, when MONUC gained full control over Watsa.23
Barrick’s business practices have not gone completely unnoticed. In December 2002, Barrick Gold was sued in an anti-trust case for literally manipulating the price of gold on the world market. Banking giant J.P. Morgan (prior to their merger with Chase Manhattan) was an investor in a company called Argo Partnership, who became a significant shareholder in TrizecHahn. Barrick bought TrizecHahn , making J.P. Morgan a shareholder in Barrick Gold by virtue of the buyout. J.P. Morgan reportedly loaned Barrick gold reserves from a central bank to short-sell on the market, increasing the supply and driving the price down. The money from the gold sales was invested in money market instruments at J.P. Morgan for a higher return than the gold borrowing rate, thus creating a profit. The short sales were considered off-sheet assets, so the purchase of gold off the market was not reflected as a loss in their balance sheet.24
Barrick would then mine the gold needed to replace the borrowed stores at the central bank, but a clause in the J.P. Morgan gold lending deal gave Barrick an infinite number of years to pay back the central bank. This meant Barrick could buy up the gold supplies to drive the price up, or they could dump their borrowed stores and drop the price generating a profit for both Barrick and J.P. Morgan. Recall that during 1998, as Barrick was evicted from the Congo, the price of gold was falling considerably. It has been rising steadily since 2001. (Ibid)
Currently, Barrick has terminated all non-project hedge contracts. They have allotted $23 million dollars (U.S.) for exploratory efforts in Africa for the 2007 fiscal year. Another $26 million dollars (U.S.) is delegated to explore the Sedibelo PFM deposit on the Bushveld Complex in South Africa. They completed a feasibility study on the Buzwagi gold project in Tanzania, where Barrick is also opening a joint venture project with Xstrata Nickel in Kabanga. Barrick is also eager to develop their Reko Diq joint venture in the Baluchistan Province of Pakistan.25 They are also selling all their shares in NovaGold.
The Baluchistan Province is the largest province in Pakistan. It borders the Helmand Province of Afganistan, an opium crop district and Taliban (meaning „students“ in Arabic) stronghold. The Baluchistan Province has been used as a rear base for training and staging their armed forces. The Taliban are a Nationalist Sunni faction comprised of Pashtuns, who form a very sizable population in Baluchistan Province. The area is awash in locally ruled fiefdoms by tribal chiefs and mullahs (Islamic clergymen). In Pakistan, they are usually from the Wahhabi or Salafi sect.
The individuals behind Barrick Gold are so well-connected they are worth noting in detail:
Howard Beck: Corporate Director of Barrick Gold. Formerly involved with BAE, and Citibank Canada. BAE bought out United Defense Industries (a company formerly owned by The Carlyle Group) in 2005. Just recently, BAE was the subject of a corruption probe in Great Britain, but Prime Minister Tony Blair and Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith ordered the investigation suspended. Some British officials believe the firm lobbied Lord Goldsmith to drop the investigation.26 BAE is a 20% owner of Airbus.27
Gustavos Cisneros: Board Member and International Advisory Board Member of Barrick Gold. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Cisneros Group, which includes television and radio networks, broadcasting and telecommunications operations, programming and production companies for television and radio, supermarkets, beverage production, fast food outlets, video franchises, and music production. He essentially owns the Latin-American media market.
Mr. Cisneros is Venuzeuelan and a stauch opponent of Venezuela’s current Populist President Hugo Chavez. Mr Cisneros is a founding (and current) member of the International Advisory Board of the Council on Foreign Relations and a former Director of the International Advisory Committee of Chase Manhattan Bank. He is director of the Chairman’s Council of the Americas Society and a member of the International Advisory Council of the United States Information Agency, the Board of Overseers of the International Center for Economic Growth, the International Advisory Board of Power Corporation of Canada, the International Advisory Board of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, the International Advisory Board of AEA Investors Incorporated, and is a board member of Panamerican Beverages Incorporated (a Coca-Cola bottling company).
In addition, he is a Trustee of Rockefeller University in New York and sits on the Board of Georgetown University. He also sits on the International Advisory Board of Columbia University, the Advisory Committee for the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, and the Rockefeller University Fund. Mr. Cisneros acts as the Commissioner of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission and is a member of the Council for Latin American Studies at John Hopkins University. In addition, Mr. Cisneros is a Governor of the World Economic Forum.28
Donald Carty: A Corporate Director of Barrick Gold, Dell, Sears, and Roebuck. He is also the Chairman of Virgin America, Porter Airlines, and is the former Chief Executive Officer of American Airlines.
Marshall Cohen: Lawyer for Cassel’s Brock & Blackwell, and former Canadian Deputy Minister of several areas including Finance, Industry, Trade & Commerce, Energy, and Mines & Resources. He is a Corporate Director of Barrick Gold, American-International Group, TD Ameritrade, Premcor Incorporated, Metaldyne Corporation, Toronto-Dominion Bank, and Lafarge Corporation. He is a member of the International Advisory Committee for The Blackstone Group. Formerly, he was the International Councillor for CSIS, and a former member of the Executive Committee of The British-North American Committee and The Trilateral Commission. He was also the Chairman of the International Trade Advisory Committee for the Government of Canada.
John Crow: Corporate Director of Barrick Gold. He is the former Governor of the Bank of Canada (1987-1994); Chairperson of the Central Bank Governors of the Group of Ten countries, and one-time head of the North American Division of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Brian Mulroney: Corporate Director and Chairman of the International Advisory Board of Barrick Gold and most notably, the former Prime Minister of Canada (1984-1993). He is a Director of Archer Daniels Midland Company, the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, and the Cendant Corporation. He is Chairman of Trizec Properties Incorporated, America Online-Latin America Incorporated, and Quebecor Incorporated. He sits on the International Advisory Board of the China International Trust and Investment Corporation, JPMorgan Chase, Independent News and Media, Power Corporation, Bombardier Incorporated, Aerospace Group – North America, and General Enterprise Management Services Limited. In addition, he is an honorary trustee of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Senior Partner in the Ogilvy Renault law firm.
Anthony Munk: Peter Munk’s son. He is a Director of Barrick Gold and Onex.
Peter Munk: Founder, Director; member of the International Advisory Board; and former Chief Executive Officer of Barrick Gold and the Trizec Corporation. Mr. Munk also founded Clairtone Sound Corporation. In addition, he is a member of the World Gold Council and the 1001 Club. Mr. Munk is a close friend of infamous Saudi Arabian arms dealer Adnan Khoshoggi, who was involved in financing and setting up arms deals to Iran during the Iran-Contra scandal.29 Mr. Khoshoggi helped Mr. Munk launch Barrick Gold in 1983, but later sold his shares to Mr. Munk just before details of his involvement in Iran-Contra broke in 1985.
Lord Charles Powell of Baywater: Lord Powell is a cross-bench member of Britain’s Upper House of Parliament and the House of Lords, where he sits on the Economic Affairs Committee. He served as the Private Secretary and Advisor on Foreign Affairs and Defense to former Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Lord Powell is currently an Advisor to the Chairmen of BAE and Eastern Star Publications. He is a principal at New Bridge Strategies, a business advisory firm currently working in Iraq. He holds many directorships, including: British Mediterranean Airways, Caterpillar Incorporated, Financière Agache, Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Sagitta Asset Management (Chairman), Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Jardine Matheson & Company Group, Textron Corporation, Yell Group, Limited Schindler Holdings, Switzerland, and Northern Trust Global Services.
He also serves on the Advisory Board of Barrick Gold, Diligence (a PMC), Hicks Muse. Delta HPC (a former business partner of Lockheed Martin), GEMS Private Equity Fund, Rolls-Royce European Strategy Board, Textron International, Wingate Capital, Magna Corporation, the European Advisory Group GMBH, Thales U.K., and Alfa Capital. Lord Powell is Chairman of the Said Business School Foundation’s (Oxford University) Board of Trustees. He is also active with several non-corporate groups including trustee postitions at the Aspen Institute (USA), British Museum, and the Karim Rida Said Foundation. He is a Director of the Atlantic Partnership, the Singapore Millennium Foundation, and the U.K.-China Forum. He is also President of the China-Britain Business Council and a member of the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
William Cohen: Member of Barrick Gold and Intel Corporation’s International Advisory Boards. Intel was a major consumer of tantalum in the early 2000s during the computer industry boom. He is currently the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Cohen Group, an international business consulting firm. He is also a current Director at Viacom and AIG. Mr. Cohen is also a Cable Newn Network (CNN) World Affairs Contributor. He was the U.S. Secretary of Defense (1997-2001) during the beginning of the 2nd Congo War and NATO’s bombing of Kosovo.
Prior to working for the DOD, he was a U.S. Senator for the state of Maine (1979-1997) and served on the Select Committee on Intelligence (1983-1991, 1995-1997), the Governmental Affairs Committee (1979-1997), Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs (1989-1993 in George H.W. Bush’s administration) and the Armed Services Committee (1979-1997). In addition, he served on the Iran-Contra investigative committee in 1987. Before he was elected Senator, he was a House Representative for Maine’s 2nd District (1973-1979). While in Congress, he served on the House Judiciary Committee that investigated the Watergate scandal. He served on the Board of Directors of the Council on Foreign Relations (1989-1997) on its Middle East Study Group and currently works for several think-tanks and committees including the CSIS (Counselor and Trustee) , the School for Advanced International Studies, the William S. Cohen Center for International Policy and Commerce at the University of Maine in Orono (Chairman), and the Brookings Institution. He established and led U.S. delegations to the American-Arab Dialogue in Cairo and is the Chairman Emeritus of the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council. Mr. Cohen is also a former trustee of the Africa Foundation. In May 1992, he got Rwandan opposition parties to meet with RPF officials in Brussels.30
Paul G. Desmarais Senior: Member of the International Advisory Board of Barrick Gold and Chase Manhattan Bank N.A. He is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Power Corporation, and honorary President of the Canada-China Business Council. He is a former Director of TotalElfFina; former member of the Trilateral Commission; current member of the Privy Council, and a Companion of the Order of Canada. He is on the Advisory Board of the Carlyle Group and CSIS. Mr. Desmarais is a personal friend of the Bush family (Former U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush is the former Chairman of Barrick Gold’s International Advisory Board [1995-1999] and was a personal golfing partner of President Mobutu31) and. Brian Mulroney.32
Vernon Jordan Junior: He was Chairman of Bill Clinton’s presidential transition team and one of his top political advisors as well. He is currently a Senior Counselor practicing general, corporate, legislative and international law with the firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer, & Feld. In addition, he is a member of the Bilderberger Group, the Iraq Study Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission. He sits on the Board of Directors for American Express, Dow Jones & Company, Lazard Freres and Company, J.C. Penney Company, Xerox Corporation, Ashbury Automotive Group, and the LBJ Foundation. He is also a member of the International Advisory Boards of Barrick Gold and Daimler-Chrysler. Mr. Jordan serves on the Board of Governors for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies; a Senior Managing Director with Lazard Freres & Company; and a Trustee of Howard University. He is a former Director for Revlon, Sara Lee, Corning, and Nabisco.
He has been involved with several African-American civil rights, equality, and empowerment groups. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban League, Incorporated; Executive Director of the United Negro College Fund; Director of the Voter Education Project of the Southern Regional Council; attorney-consultant at the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity; Assistant to the Executive Director of the Southern Regional Council; and Georgia Field Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He also received numerous presidential appointments including a spot on the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on South Africa.
Karl Otto Pöhl: Member of the International Advisory Board of Barrick Gold, the Carlyle Group, former Chairman of the German Bundesbank (Central Bank) from 1980-1991, and former German Governor of the IMF. He served in Germany’s Economics and Finance Ministries. He is currently a partner in Sal. Oppenheim Junior & Cie investment bank; member of the Bilderberger Group; Director of GAMCO Investors Incorporated and Gabelli Funds LLC; and Senior Advisor to the Ahli United Bank.
Nathaniel Rothschild: International Advisory Board member of Barrick Gold and Co-chairman of Atticus Capital. He is a Director of RIT Capital Partners PLC, Trigranit (Chairman), The Rothschild Foundation, JNR Limited (Chairman), and a member of the Belfer Center’s International Council at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. In addition, Mr. Rothschild is on the International Advisory Council of the Brookings Institute. Mr. Rothschild is the only son of Jacob Rothschild and belongs to the well-known Rothschild family of bankers.
Andrew Young: Member of the International Advisory Board of Barrick Gold, Argus Newspapers, and Delta Airlines. He was a close confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, a very prominent African-American civil rights activist in the U.S. Mr. Young is was the Ambassador to the U.N. (1977-1979) under President Jimmy Carter and a Georgian Congressman from 1973-1977. He served two terms as Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, where he was also the Co-Chair of the Atlanta Committee for the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to chair the Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund. In addition, Mr. Young is the former Chairman of Working Families for Wal-Mart and the Southern Africa Development Fund. He was also a Director of the Drum Major Institute and a consultant for Nike. In addition, Mr. Young is the former President of the National Council of Churches (2000-2001) and a former member of the National Security Study Group.
Mr. Young is the current Co-Chair and Co-Founder of GoodWorks International (GoodWorks is a member of the CCA; Associate of the African-American Institute; affiliate of the Council of Foreign Relations, and Senior Advisor of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. Client corporations of GoodWorks include Barrick Gold, ChevronTexaco, Monsanto, Nike, and Coca-Cola.) and a founder of the CCA. He teaches public affairs as a professor of policy studies at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Mr. Young is a Director of Argus, Host Marriott Corporation, Archer Daniels Midland, Cox Communications, Atlanta Market Center, the Atlanta Falcons, and Thomas Nelson Publishing. He is currently a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, the Council of Foreign Relations, and is an active Freemason. Mr. Young is also currently promoting international investment in Rwanda and is working on creating a convention of international investors in Kigali that will be the largest African business summit to date. It is currently scheduled for 2010.
In addition to George Herbert Walker Bush, Barrick Gold has several other former directors with major credentials:
Howard Baker Junior: Tennessee’s Republican Senator from 1967-1985, including two terms each as Senate Majority and Senate Minority Leader. Mr. Baker served as a delegate to the United Nations in 1976. He served as President Ronald Regan’s Chief of Staff in 1987-1988. He also served on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 1985-1987 and again from 1988-1990. After parting ways with President Reagan, he joined Donelson, Bearman & Caldwell (1989-2001), a lobbying firm for hire that represented Barrick Gold. In 2001, he was called to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. In 2005, he stepped down from his post and reunited with the law firm created by his grandfather, Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, as a full partner. He also joined the Advisory Board of Citigroup. Mr. Baker also runs the University of Tennessee-Knoxville Center for Public Policy named in his honor. In addition, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs.
Edward Ney: This former director of Barrick was George Herbert Walker Bush’s Ambassador to Canada (1989-1992); a reward for running Mr. Bush’s successful presidential ad campaign in 1988. Mr. Ney took charge of Young and Rubicam (acquired by WPP Group in 2000), a public relations agency-for-hire in 1970 and he built it into the largest firm of its kind. He was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the Board of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in 1975 and was later appointed by President Reagan to serve on the RFE/RL Successor Board, called the BIB (Board of International Broadcasting), in 1983. Mr. Ney also served as a Trustee (1976-1988) of the National Urban League. He also was a member of the Executive Committee on The Grace Commission, President Reagan’s Private Sector Survey on Cost Control (1982-1986). He was Chairman of the Visiting Committee on Afro-American Studies at Harvard from 1977-1984, and is a member of the Advertising Hall of Fame. He was a Director of the Mattel Corporation as well. Currently, he is a Director of Integrated Defense Technologies (I.D.T.C.) and a Trustee at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University and the President George H. W. Bush Presidential Library at Texas A&M University.
Mr. Ney was named Chairman of the Advisory Board at Burson-Marsteller, a subsidiary of Young and Rubicam. Burston-Marsteller is also a public relations firm-for-hire who was hired to cover up Shell’s nefarious business policies in Nigeria. They were also hired by General Jorge Videla’s violent regime in Argentina, and the Government of Indonesia during the time they were enacting their murderous policies during their occupation of East Timor. Burson-Marsteller also worked for Monsanto during their Bovine Growth Hormone scandal; lobbied for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and tobacco companies; covered for Union Carbide after the Bhopal disaster, and worked to improve Exxon’s image after the Valdez spill in Alaska.33 Mr. Ney is also currently a member of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Advisory Board (since 1986), the Council on Foreign Relations (since 1974), and a Trustee of the Museum of Television and Radio (MTR) in New York City (since 1982).
John Trevor Eyton: Mr. Eyton was a Canadian Senator first appointed in 1990 by (then) Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. He is a Director of Brazoil, Coca Cola, IQ Ludorum, Nayarit Gold, Owen Media Partners, General Motors Canada, IMAX, Partners for Youth, Nestle Canada, Noranda Incorporated, the International Chamber of Commerce (Paris), Excor-Zerust Canada, and Brookfield Asset Management. Mr. Eyton is Chairman of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, Excor-Zerust Canada, Ivernia, Multi-Games Incorporated, Richview Resources, and Silver Bear Resources. He is Governor of the Canadian Olympic Foundation, Junior Achievement Canada, and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Previously, he served as a Senior Partner at the law firm of Tory Tory Deslauriers & Binnington and as Chairman of EdperBrascan (now Brookfield Asset Management). He is also a member of the Trilateral Commission.
Richard Helms: Director of the CIA from 1966 to 1973 under President Richard Nixon and Deputy Director of the CIA under John McCone. Prior to this, he worked in the Office of Strategic Services, the parent department of the CIA. During President Nixon’s term, he was the Ambassador to Iran. He was involved with Augusto Pinochet’s coup of Chilean President Salvador Allende in 1973. He also served on the board of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which was embroiled in laundering money from international arms dealers and terrorists. He was a Director of the Carlyle Group, a consultant for Bechtel, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Sources in Aru on the Congo-Uganda border stated „white executives“ from Barrick Gold fly in and inspect Watsa every few months, but the company refuses to resume operations until fighting stops in the area. With MONUC in full control of Watsa, the fighting has ceased. MONUC’s logistics branch has established regular flights there. Barrick can now try and repossess their mining license for the concession. The infrastructure in Watsa, Doko, and Durba has been restored. Durba has a working grinder and Nzoro has an active hydro-electric power source. The Kenyan construction firm Civicon began work on a 108 kilometer road leading from the Vura border post to Watsa and should be finished in nine months time barring the return of armed warfare in the area. The Australian/Canadian mining firm Moto Goldmines Limited provided some of the equipment for the job as per a contractual agreement with the Congolese Government.34
Barrick Gold is a former business partner of the previously mentioned firm American Mineral Fields Incorporated (now named Adastra Minerals), who still owns their extensive concessions in Katanga Province. Barrick was also partnered with the infamous and now defunct mining firm Bre-X Minerals Limited.35
One of Barrick’s current business partners is South Africa-based Gold Fields. Gold Fields purchased Barrick’s stake in South Deep, a mine located west of Johannesburg they acquired when Placer Dome was purchased. As part of the deal, Barrick was given over $300 million dollars (U.S.) worth of shares in Gold Fields.36 Notables associated with Gold Fields include Chief Executive Officer Ian Cockerill (former Executive Officer for Business Development and African International Operations for AngloGold Ashanti Limited), Director John Hopwood (former Director and head of the Mergers and Acquisitions Division of Ernst & Young’s Corporate Finance; former Executive Director of Gold Fields of South Africa Limited), Director Patrick Ryan (former Executive Vice President of Mining Operations, Development and Exploration at Phelps Dodge), Tokyo Sexwale (Chairman of Mvelaphanda Resources Limited), Rupert Pennant-Rea (Chairman of Henderson Group plc; Director of British American Tobacco plc, Sherrit International Corporation, First Quantum Minerals, and Rio Narcea; former editor for The Economist and the former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England)
Barrick also works with Australia-based Emperor Gold, who is a minority stakeholder in Barrick’s Porgera mine project in Papau New Guinea. Emperor’s Non-Executive Director Robert J. McDonald was a Managing Director of NM Rothschild & Sons (Australia) Limited and also held numerous positions with Rio Tinto, who also mines in Papau New Guinea. Non-Executive Chairman Geoffrey Campbell used to manage Merrill Lynch’s Investment Managers‘ Gold and General Fund, one of the largest investment funds of its kind in the world.
Emperor is a subsidiary of DRDGold Limited, based in South Africa. Mr. Campell acts as its Non-Executive Chairman as well. Director James Turk founded GoldMoney Network Limited, a digital gold transaction system. He also worked with Chase Manhattan Bank before managing the Commodity Department of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Alternate Director Kobus Dissel hails from AngloGold.
Another partner of Barrick Gold was Ashanti Goldfields Limited, a company later purchased by Anglo-American Corporation and renamed AngloGold-Ashanti Limited. AngloGold-Ashanti is actively mining on Concession #40 in and around Mongbwalu, where local Anglo officials stand accused of illegally paying off the FNI in 2004 to mine the area in safety. They also reportedly allowed the FNI and its President Floribert Njabu to use company vehicles, jets (chartered by Kilwa Air, who also chartered for MotoGoldmines Limited), lawyers, and housing. Jean-Pierre Bemba was reportedly the man who suggested AngloGold work with the FNI in order to start mining in 2004. William Swing was supportive of AngloGold-Ashanti’s exporation plans in FNI territory. At the time, MONUC did not have a presence in Mongbwalu, only Bunia. AngloGold-Ashanti employees (at the time) who had direct contact with the FNI were Ashley Lassen (Head of AngloGold-Ashanti’s Uganda branch), Howard Fall (Project Manager in Mongbwalu), Jean-Claude Kanku (consultant), Desire Sangara (AngloGold-Ashanti’s Manager in the Kinshasa office), and Mark Hanham (Engineer).37
AngloGold’s Chief Executive Officer Bobby Godsell (former Chairman of the World Gold Council) dismissed the allegations and announced they were going to continue work in Mongbwalu, but he promised to pull out of the Congo if his workers were forced to pay militias off to ensure their safety.38 In the meantime Anglo-American is looking to sell AngloGold-Ashanti. Newmont Mining has shown interest in a merger with AngloGold, which would seriously dilute Anglo-American’s ownership, but not eliminate it. Despite the plans to sell off AngloGold, Anglo-American still plans for formally open two offices in the Congo: one in Kinshasa and one in Lubumbashi. Anglo-American, which posted a whopping 46% profit in 2006, is looking to buy back three billion dollars (U.S.) worth of shares and invest in copper projects in the Congo.39
(Then) AngloGold-Ashanti’s President and Non-Executive Director Sir Samuel Kwesi Jonah, reportedly backed the RCD financially after L. Kabila revoked a mining contract from him while he was the Chief Executive Officer of Ashanti Goldfields Limited. Ashanti originally bought the concession from Mindev for only five million dollars (U.S.). After the RCD/ANC controlled the area, the RCD’s Minister of Mining Alex Thambwe returned the contract to Ashanti Goldfields.40 Sir Jonah resigned from AngloGold-Ashanti’s Board of Directors in February 2007.
Sir Jonah is a Board Member of Lonmin, the Commonwealth African Investment Fund (Comafin), Transnet Limited, Anglo-American Platinum Corporation Limited, the Ashesi University Foundation, Equinox Minerals (Chairman), the uranium-producing nuclear power company UraMin Incorporated (Chairman), Anglo-American Corporation, Ghana Airways, Moto Goldmines Limited, Scharrig Mining (Chairman), Sierra Rutile Limited (Chairman), Sierra Resources Holding, Range Resources Limited (which holds the rights to all the minerals in the Somali semi-autonomous state of Puntland), Titanium Resources Group, Copper Resources Corporation (with George Arthur Forrest and George Andrew Forrest), Standard Bank Group of South Africa, Bayport Holding Limited, Transnet Limited, Equator Exploration Limited in Nigeria and São Tomé & Príncipé (with Baronness Lynda Chalker), and he is a former director of Mittal Steel (currently in the proverbial hot seat for a contract they signed with the government of Liberia)
He is a member of the Advisory Council of the U.N. Secretary General’s Global Compact, South African President Thabo Mbeki’s International Investment Advisory Council, the African Regional Advisory Board of the London Business School, First Atlantic Merchant Bank, Defiance Mining, Ghanian President John Kufuor’s Ghana Investors‘ Advisory Council, President Obasanjo Nigerian Investors‘ Advisory Council, and serves as a Presidential Advisor to President Mohamud Muse Hersi of the Somali state of Puntland. He also holds an honorary British knighthood, the Star of Ghana and several other international awards and titles. He recently announced plans to open his own firm called Jonah Mining.
Currently, the Canadian company African Mineral Fields Incorporated (AMFI), recently purchased by Nevada-based Magnus Resources Incorporated, owns rights to a section of Concession #38. African Mineral Fields also owns gold mining concessions in Uganda at Mwerusandu, and Mitoma, Mubende, and Lugazi. Bruce Milne, AMFI’s Uganda Exploration and Country Manager, originally discovered the concessions Barrick Gold currently owns in Tanzania. John Dixon, a consulting geologist for AMFI, once worked as a consultant for Placer Dome from (2000-2006). Placer Dome was bought out by Barrick in late 2005.
Moto Goldmines Limited (headed by Sir Samuel Jonah) entered into a joint venture on Concessions # 38 and #39 (which includes the mines in Durba, Karagwa, and Chauffeur) through its subsidiary Borgakim Mining SPRL (a subsidiary of Border Energy Limited, which is itself a subsidiary of Moto Goldmines Australia Limited, whose parent company is Moto Goldmines Limited). Originally, a joint venture was created between the privately owned Orgaman SPRL and OKIMO on 10 May, 2003. Moto Goldmines then bought into the existing agreement between the two and became a 60% owner of the property.41
Moto Goldmines Limited was created when Moto Goldmines Australia Limited (formerly Equis Limited) and King Products Incorporated (formerly Wizard Lake Petroleum Corporation) merged in 2005. Moto Goldmines has set up a complicated series of 13 subsidiaries in order to control as much of Concession # 38 as possible. Border Energy Limited is a wholly owned holding company of Moto Goldmines Limited. Moto Goldmines Limited created several subsidiaries as joint ventures with Border Energy, many of which are active in Ituri District and have entered into joint ventures of their own with OKIMO. They include Rambi Mining SPRL, Blue Rose SPRL (owned by Blue Rose Investments Limited in Strathavon, South Africa), Kibali Gold SPRL, Amani Gold SPRL, Gorumbwa Mining SPRL, Tangold SPRL (owned by Greendale Universal Holdings Limited in Roadtown on Tortala Island, British Virgin Islands) , and the aformentioned Borgakim SPRL. Orgaman SPRL was previously established in the Congo to import frozen fruit and is owned by Belgian William Damseaux. Reginald Gillard is the company’s President and Jean-Claude Damseaux is the Vice President.
The deal to include Moto Goldfields Limited in the contract has come under heavy scrutiny by the Congolese Government. Mr. Victor Kasongo Shomary, OKIMO’s (then) Managing Director, never approved the contract, but three of OKIMO’s four directors did. The contract was questionable because it had a clause that allowed OKIMO’s Directors to short-sell additional plots of land to Borgakim SPRL. Additionally, the percentage of ownership allocated to OKIMO was only 30% and any additional joint ventures with another Moto Goldmines Limited subsidiaries would likely reduce the percentage further. The contract also required Borgakim SPRL to pay for prospecting the concessions, but they have opted to rely on old studies (funded entirely by OKIMO) for data as a way to save themselves money, which is a breach of the legal agreement. The Ministry of Finance has suspended all negotiations between OKIMO, Borgakim SPRL, and Moto Goldfields Limited. In addition, the contracts of Moto Goldfields Limited’s smaller subsidiaries are under review because of late payments on the lease agreements. OKIMO gave MotoGoldfields Limited an ultimatum: they have 75 days to invest in a metallurgical plant, a power station, and then begin mining in Durba, or else the contract is null and void. Sir Jonah reassured his shareholder, stating OKIMO’s threats have „no legal value and (are) of no effect.“ He also accused other mining companies of souring Moto Goldmines‘ relationship with President Kabila.42
On top of all this, OKIMO’s management is also under investigation for stealing gold from Concession #38. Mr. Kasongo, OKIMO’s Financial Director, and its Sales Manager all stand accused of diverting mined gold for personal profit. Mr. Kasongo was later exonerated of the charges and appointed President Joseph Kabila’s Deputy Minister of Mining. The outside pressure on Mr. Kasongo is evident as he is now proposing to privatize OKIMO via the London and Toronto stock exchanges.43 Moto Goldmines is counting on Mr. Kasongo’s departure from OKIMO to allow the remaining directors to persuade the incoming director to cooperate with them and approve the contract.
A number of smaller companies with leases on Concession #38 and/or #39 have not honored their contracts because they have been inactive on the mining sites. One is the private firm Aston and Sheffield Commodities-Goldagem SPRL. Aston and Sheffield is Goldagem’s parent company. Goldagem itself is based in Dubai and run by Taoufik Mathlouthi, Chairman of Mecca Cola. Two additional small firms that have not paid for their mining leases are Rambi Mining SPRL and Amani Gold SPRL.
A large company that has failed to honor its mining contract in Ituri is Mwana Africa PLC, owned by Mwana Africa Holdings Limited based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded by three former Anglo-American directors in 2003. The firm began a joint venture project with OKIMO in June of 2005. Mwana Africa is also the vast majority shareholder of a joint venture with Anglo-American located south of Kolwezi, Fungerume, and Likasi in Katanga Province to mine copper and cobalt. With copper prices at records highs, Mwana is agressively seeking to expand its project, while Anglo-American has made deliberate efforts to expand their copper mining assets. They are negotiating with Gécamines to purchase another concession in Katanga Province to expand their project.
Mwana Africa Holdings Limited was bought out by the Dublin-based (Ireland is known to be very leinient on corporate taxes) company African Gold PLC. African Gold PLC purchased Tangold SPRL in June 2004. Tangold SPRL itself owned a single portion of OKIMO Concession #38 at the time of the purchase and that contract is on the verge of being canceled. Mwana Africa Holdings also owns part of Australia-based Gravity Diamonds Limited, a joint venture with BHP Billiton, Asia Marketing Limited (registered in Israel), Intergroup Consultants Limited, and a number of private diamond firms primarily registered in Antwerp, Belgium, home of the Diamond High Council (HRD). Incidentally, Antwerp was also the main port of entry for coltan coming to Europe from the Congo during the coltan boom of the early 2000s. Gravity Diamonds is active in the Congo’s former Kasai Province, Angola, and Australia. Lastly, Mwana also owns Sibika S.A., which had a 20% stake in MIBA (the Congolese state-owned diamond mining entity) at the time of the purchase.44
Mwana Africa Holdings also bought Bindura Nickel Corporation from AngloGold-Ashanti in 2004. Bindura was chiefly active in Zimbabwe as it was a joint venture between AngloGold-Ashanti and the government of Zimbabwe run by President Robert Mugabe. In early May 2004, Bindura’s Chief Executive Officer Leonard Chimimba was shot and killed outside his home in Harare after returning from a meeting with bank executives. He also reportedly visited the Governor of Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank (Gideon Gono) the day before. The murder occurred after over half a million dollars (U.S.) worth of nickel disappeared from two Bindura trucks driving to South Africa in March. The incident is believed to be the work of business insiders working with criminal syndicates in South Africa.45
Mwana Africa recently sought to expand its operations by bidding for the Canadian diamond exploration company SouthernEra Diamonds (through JPMorgan and OZ Management), who holds joint ventures with BHP Billiton and Nyumba Ya Akiba SPRL, as well as their own exploration projects in the Kasai-Occidental and Kasai-Oriental Provinces of the Congo. In addition, they own 20% of MIBA.46
As can be expected, the company employs several well-connected individuals. Director Dr. Chris Jennings was an assistant vice president of Falconbridge Limited, a company integrated into Xstrata in August 2006. He was also the Deputy Director of Botswana’s Geological Survey. Chief Financial Officer Mr. Chris Reynolds spent several years with accounting giant (then) Price Waterhouse. President Alasdair MacPhee spent 17 years with DeBeers and Mr. Michael Kritzinger, a company lawyers, provided council for Anglo-American, DeBeers, and Gencor/Billiton.
Notables directing African Gold PLC are Hank Slack (Director of Anglo-American [1981-1999], Chief Executive of Minorco [1991-1999], current Director of Terra Industries and Engelhard Corporation, former Director of Solomon Brothers and SAB Miller), John Teeling (Chairman of Minco, Petrel resources, Pan Andean Resources, and African Diamonds), Oliver Baring (Executive Chairman of the First Africa Group; former Anglo-American Director; current Chairman of Cluff Mining PLC; non-executive Director of Merrill Lynch World Mining Trust and the Tiedmann Trust Company, and advisor for the The Senient Resources Fund).
Another major player is African Gold’s Chief Executive Officer Kalaa Mpinga. Mr. Mpinga is the son of a former Prime Minister and nephew of Mr. Pierre-Victor Mpoyo (One of L. Kabila’s advisors; the former Congolese Minister of Economy; former Minister of State; owner of the Central Mining Group, and business partner of Zimbabwean Billy Rautenbach, the Director of Gécamines in 1998). Kalaa received his Agricultural Development and Economics degrees at the University of California-Davis and McGill University (Canada) respectively. After graduating, he went to work for the Bechtel Corporation in San Francisco. In 1991, he left to join LTA Limited, which was owned by Anglo-American Corporation. In 1997, he was promoted to Executive Director of Anglo-American’s mining division and worked in the Congo’s Ministry of Economy under his uncle. To this day, Mr. Mpinga continues to hold strong ties with Anglo-Amcerican.47 From 1998-2000, Mr. Mpinga was a Patron and Board Member of the African Business Roundtable and he was also an Executive Director of New Business Africa. In 2001, he was one a founding member of Mwana Africa Holdings.
He currently is a Director of Group Five Limited (a huge construction firm), and GijimaAST, a technology corporation based in South Africa. In addition, he is Chairman of Bindura Nickel Corporation. Many of Mr. Mpinga’s recent projects are funded by Lansdowne Partners Ltd. and Marshall Wace LLP.48 On a personal note, Mr. Mpinga is an open admirer of the late DeBeers/Anglo-American patriarch Harry Oppenheimer, calling him, „A great African, a man with a vision for the continent and indeed a pioneer of African renaissance.“49
This article was first published at ZMAG
David Barouski is an African Affairs researcher and a Political Science student at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He is a regular contributor to ZNet/ZMagazine. His work has appeared in Waheen Online, the Somaliland Times, Golis News, Congo Vision, and the Congo Panorama. He is also the author of the book, „Laurent Nkundabatware, his Rwandan Allies, and the ex-ANC Mutiny: Chronic Barriers to Lasting Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,“ which he traveled to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda to research.
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6 Ibid. pg. 281; Baracyetse, Pierre, Loudiebo, Alexandre. „The Geopolitical Stakes of the International Mining Companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ex-Zaire).“ English Translation. 2000.
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