Tin miner Alphamin slumps after rebels take Congolese city

Alphamin Resources Corp. shares fell the most in nine years after Rwanda-backed rebels overran the eastern Congolese city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province where the company’s tin mines are located.

The stock sank by as much as a third earlier Monday, then pared losses to trade down 9.4% at 97 Canadian cents as of 12:27 p.m. in Toronto.

After a rapid advance, so-called M23 rebels are now patrolling Goma, a trading hub for the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mineral exports to neighboring Rwanda. It’s not, however, a transit point for Alphamin’s tin, which comes from mines about 120 miles west of the city and is sent northeast to Uganda.

Chief executive officer Maritz Smith declined to comment when emailed Monday.

Congo’s east has been wracked by conflict for three decades, a drag on investment in Alphamin, which is listed in both Toronto and Johannesburg. The company started output in the Central African country in 2019 and produced a record 17,324 tons of tin last year. It plans to ramp up to 20,000 tons — about 6% to 7% of global production.

(By Michael J. Kavanagh and William Clowes)

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