Ethiopian Mineral Development SC to Be Privatised in Full

The Ethiopian Minerals Development SC (EMDSC) is about to go to the privatization auction bloc in full in 2013/14 after the Privatisation and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency (PPESA) cancelled plans to operate the company under a joint venture deal.

The Company, which explores mineral deposits and mines tantalum and industrial minerals in Kenticha area, 550km south of Addis Abeba, was offered for a joint venture in December 2012. Though four companies had shown interest in the joint venture, PPESA had taken its time to decide on a partner, eventually cancelling the tender two weeks ago. This is because the license the company had taken from MoM to explore a minerals site, overlapped with another party which also had a license for the site, according to a senior official at PPESA that Fortune talked to.

The Company, one of the four offshoots of the Ethiopian Mineral Resources Development Corporation (EMRDC) which dissolved in 1995, will now be one of the 18 companies that PPESA is planning to auction in the 2012/13 fiscal year.