Anvil Mining

About Anvil Mining

Anvil Mining Limited was an African-focused base metals mining and exploration company, primarily centered on copper production in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The company was incorporated on January 8, 2004, initially under the name Dikulushi Resources Limited, and was renamed Anvil Mining Limited on March 12, 2004. Operating in the DRC from 2002 to 2012, Anvil became one of the first mining companies to establish a significant presence in the country's Katanga Province following a period of civil unrest. The company's shares were publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange.

The business centered on the exploration and operation of open-pit mines to produce copper and associated metals like silver. Its core business model involved a staged development approach, starting with comparatively low-risk projects and expanding them with targeted capital investments. This strategy allowed the company to become the leading copper producer in the DRC, accounting for 32.1% of the country's total production in 2007. Revenue was generated by producing and selling copper and silver concentrates, as well as "black copper" ingots, which were trucked to smelters in southern Africa for further processing.

Anvil's principal assets were located in the DRC's Katanga province, a region containing over 10% of the world's copper. Key projects included a 95% interest in the Kinsevere Project, a 90% interest in the Dikulushi Mine, and an 80% interest in the Mutoshi Project. The Dikulushi copper-silver mine began production in late 2002. The Mutoshi project involved retreating copper-rich tailings from a past-producing mine and was a joint venture with the state-owned Gécamines. The Kinsevere project was the company's most ambitious investment, featuring a solvent extraction and electro-winning (SXEW) processing plant designed to produce 60,000 tonnes of cathode copper annually.

In September 2011, a takeover offer was announced from Minmetals Resources Limited (MMR), a unit of the state-owned China Minmetals Group. The acquisition was completed in March 2012, with MMR, through its subsidiary MMG Malachite Limited, acquiring 100% ownership of Anvil Mining. Following the takeover, Anvil's shares were delisted from the Toronto and Australian stock exchanges, and the company ceased to be a reporting issuer, becoming an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of MMR (now MMG Limited).