• CMSK has invited the Congolese authorities and media to visit its facilities, the Luiswishi open pit mine as well as its concentrator in Kipushi. A joint commission with the Congolese authorities has also been set. In July 2007, this Commission concluded that the charges against the Company were baseless and that CMSK could keep on mining and working the way it used to do;
  
  
• In June 2007, CMSK has also welcomed a delegation of the Monuc, the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the DRC. At their request, CMSK provided them explanations and details related to the Luiswishi mine. The delegation has also visited the mine. The Monuc concluded that they were no problem related to the mine. Moreover, Monuc never issued further critics or any follow up regarding this case;
  
  
• In Finland, OMG KOKKOLA CHEMICALS OY, the company importing CMSK’s mining products, transmitted to the IAEA and the STUK (Finish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority), on their request, reports related to the imports of mining products from the companies in which GROUPE FORREST INTERNATIONAL holds a major stake. On June 15, 2007, OMG mentioned in a mail that the IAEA and the STUK “[…] have not raised any concerns about the imports […]” OMG KOKKOLA CHEMICALS OY also states “[…] We have over the years not detected any increase in radioactivity, and the measured levels are of the same magnitude as the normal background levels in Finland […]”
  

In fact, as in Luiswishi, uranium is present in the majority of the copper and cobalt mines in the Katanga Province but at a very low grade, too low to be exploited and processed. Only some deposits, for instance the Shinkolobwe mine, contain high grade uranium ores and can be exploited in this regard, this is not the case in the Luiswishi mine.

For information, the radioactivity in the Luiswishi mine is largely lower than the European standards related to this question. The uranium grade is basically far too low to be exploited. Those two points have largely been proven in 2007.

CMSK produces annually 12,000 tons of copper and around 4,000 tons of cobalt, one fifteenth of the world cobalt production. But the Company does not produce any uranium.

Unlike many companies in the Katanga Province, GROUPE FORREST INTERNATIONAL is a well established company. Moreover, our doors were and remain always open to all international institutions and media. As mentioned in the diplomatic cable of the American Embassy, “[…] Forrest is an easy target; it is a large company that has been working in the Congo since 1915 […]”

We keep the door of our companies open, as well as our mining and metallurgical facilities, because we do not have anything to hide. We will continue working this way in the future. This is the only way to avoid such rumors and biased accusations.

Once again, we invite journalists and institutions from all over the world to contact us anytime they want or need it and we will answer to all their questions.

The mining companies in which GROUPE FORREST INTERNATIONAL holds a major stake were the first mining companies which applied the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in the DRC, an initiative set up by Tony Blair.

GROUPE FORREST INTERNATIONAL pleads for a maximum transparency in countries such as the DRC. George A. Forrest, President of GROUPE FORREST INTERNATIONAL, insisted on this point in Tripoli in November 2010, on the occasion of the European-African Summit. George A. Forrest participated to The Round Table for Africa with various European and African heads of Governments, for instance the Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme, as well as about ten CEOs, for instance those of Microsoft Africa or Metro AG. Two proposals of George A. Forrest have been included in the final list of recommendations for the European-African Summit. One of those is related to the necessary higher transparency in countries facing weak governance or conflicts (a copy of his intervention can be read on our website http://www.forrestgroup.com/uk/chap06/infos58.html)

Finally, GROUPE FORREST INTERNATIONAL is also active in the Fédération des Entreprises du Congo (FEC), in which a director of the Group is Vice President of the mining commission. For instance, he has represented the FEC in Paris, for an OECD meeting related to the traceability of ores from countries facing conflicts.



For the FORREST GROUP INTERNATIONAL,

Henry de Harenne
Adviser
hdh.gfi@forrestgroup.com
www.forrestgroup.com