Shari Minerals Targets September 2027 Gold Production at Mongbwalu
Shari Minerals Targets September 2027 Start-Up for Mongbwalu Gold Project in DRC
Shari Minerals is advancing the redevelopment of the Mongbwalu gold project in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, with production targeted for September 2027.
The project’s progress was presented to Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba on September 4, when a delegation from the state-owned Société Minière de Kilo-Moto (SOKIMO), led by its board chairman François Kakesé Kimaza, submitted the project’s first quarterly implementation report.
According to SOKIMO, activities at Mongbwalu began in early June 2026 and are progressing in line with the established schedule.
The project includes the construction of a gold processing plant, with Shari Minerals currently advancing work on the infrastructure required to support future production.
The company has also started recruiting technical personnel for the project, including workers in construction, electrical and instrumentation disciplines, as well as logistics and other roles associated with the processing plant.
Shari Minerals is a Congolese company established through a partnership between SOKIMO and Shari Investment, the Congolese subsidiary of Horizon Corporation. T
he partnership agreement, signed in Kinshasa on March 31, 2026, covers the development and operation of the Mongbwalu gold concession.
The project is expected to support the revival of industrial-scale gold mining in Mongbwalu, one of SOKIMO’s historic gold assets in Ituri.
The area has faced prolonged challenges, including insecurity, artisanal mining and operational constraints, which have complicated previous efforts to establish sustained industrial production.
Shari Minerals is now moving the project into its construction phase. Work includes preparation for a Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) processing plant, while activities are also progressing around site infrastructure and the mining area.
The partners have set September 2027 as the target for the start of gold production.
However, key project details, including the planned processing capacity, investment value, expected annual gold production and mineral resources or reserves underpinning the development, have not yet been publicly disclosed.
The Mongbwalu project nevertheless represents an important step in SOKIMO’s efforts to revive its historic gold assets and attract private-sector investment and technical expertise into the development of industrial mining operations in Ituri.
