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UAE firm IRH purchases majority stake in Congo tin mining company Alphamin

International Resources Holding, based in the UAE, has agreed to purchase a controlling interest in Alphamin Resources, a major tin producer in Africa. The deal is valued at C$503million ($367million), and comes as it expands its presence on the continent.

IRH, a division of International Holding Co., has entered into an agreement with Tremont Master Holdings to purchase a 56% share in Alphamin for C$0.70 or approximately $367 million. The companies announced the deal in a joint press release.

Alphamin's Bisie mine is located in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, an area rich in tantalum and tungsten, as well as coltan. Alphamin's mine in Bisie produces about 6% annually of the global tin supply.

In a statement, IRH CEO Ali Alrashdi stated that Alphamin's profile of production "aligns to our strategy" of securing interest in high-quality mine assets.

Last year, the UAE firm concluded a $1.1 billion deal to purchase a 51% stake of Zambia's Mopani Copper Mines. Since then, IRH said that it was seeking deals to acquire critical minerals in Zambia or Congo.

The UAE, as well as Saudi Arabia, are major oil producers who want to diversify their income sources and secure metal supplies from Africa or Latin America in order to take advantage of the shift to green energy.

Tin is used for electronics, renewable energies, and semiconductors.

Alphamin had to temporarily stop mining in Bisie earlier this year as M23, a Rwanda-backed rebel group, advanced near the mine. (Reporting and writing by David Lewis, Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Editing by Kirsty Donovan and Barbara Lewis).

(source: Reuters)