China vows a grant of $43 million to finance improvements to South Sud

China vows a grant of $43 million to finance improvements to South Sudan's mining industry
Juba-South Sudan's Petroleum and Mining Minister, Stephen Dhieu Dau, disclosed on Monday that China has pledged a grant of $43 million to finance improvements to South Sudan's mining industry, with the funds expected to arrive by the end of the month

Among the projects that will be funded by the Chinese grant will be a geological survey that will help to map South Sudan's mining riches.

Geological surveys conducted in the 1970s and '80s show that South Sudan may have rich deposits of gold, copper and uranium. But since those surveys were conducted, South Sudan's mineral resources have remained unexploited.
South Sudan’s Parliament passed a mining law in March that allows international firms to receive five-year exploration permits. The first step toward getting a permit is a geological survey, which would indicate where a company should dig.

Dau added that his country in the early stages of talks with China about a development loan of $1 billion to $2 billion, and about further Chinese investments in South Sudan's petroleum and mining industries,

for his part, Chinese Ambassador to South Sudan, Ma Qiang, stated he is encouraging Beijing to step up investment in South Sudan