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COPPER

Copper is one of the valuable minerals Trade Panel International Limited deals in. Our copper is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo largely in the Copper Belt of the southern Katanga Provinces. The Katanga/Shaba copper belt in the DR Congo has a width of approximately 70km and length of 250kms between Lubumbashi and Kolwezi. Over 72 economic deposits of copper and 4 large mining centers exist here making it one of the largest world’s reserves of copper. The DR Congo copper belt includes some of the highest grade copper deposits in the globe. In some reserves, the grades are over 5 percent and ore also comprises of high grades of cobalt and holds about 34 percent of the global cobalt reserves. More large deposits still exist and yet to be explored using modern technology.

Whereas there are many companies that deal in copper production, Trade Panel International Limited is that one most outstanding, trust worthy and reliable company to deal with. We have been in this business for over 10 years and based on our experience, we rate among a few best copper producers in Africa.

Others valuable minerals that Trade Panel International Limited deals in besides gold and copper include;

Cobalt

Cobalt is one of the minerals that we deal in and it is extracted from the deposits in the DR Congo. Cobalt we do sell is mainly used in the manufacture of magnetic, wear resistant and high strength alloys.

Diamond

Diamond is one of the a few valuable minerals mined in Africa and the DR Congo features among the leading five diamond producers. In Africa, DRC is the second largest diamond producer.

Tin

Tin in the DR Congo is mined in North Kivu.

Our wood or timber is sourced from quality tree species in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We deal in mahogany timber and we have all sizes of mahogany timber from Uganda and DRC. At Trade Panel International Limited, we have all kinds and sizes of mahogany timber that fit within your construction demands; decorative wood furniture, wood door panels, door frames, ceiling wood, sculptures, masks, kitchen units to mention but a few. From DR Congo, our timber is generated from tree species such as teak, ebony among others. In Uganda, our timber comes from tree species such as pines, eucalyptus, musizi, araucaria, terminalia, teak and cupressus to mention but a few.

Our first stage of timber processing involves tree felling and only mature trees are selected to allow young ones grow. The felled trees are replaced with saplings. 

Stage two involves stacking tree trunks/logs in a store or clearing till they are required at the saw mill. This stage is mainly to allow the logs tree completely from moisture or water.

Stage three covers transportation from the store to sawmill and trucks or vehicles equipped with lifting gear. Trade Panel International Limited has 4 Lorries with 10.5 tones carrying capacity for transporting timber and products, one small truck for transporting finished products to our clients.

Stage four involves cutting the logs into boards using equipment for instance a circular saw and band saws.

Stage five is what is described as seasoning and this is a process that involves reducing water content from logs that still have excess water. The seasoned wood is used to make furniture and several other wood products including endearing stand, wooden kitchen, kitchen cabinets, in-built cupboards, decorative wood furniture, wood door panels and door frames, ceiling wood, sculptures and masks.

Most of our gold comes from various sites in Uganda and DRC. In Uganda, our gold production is done in popular mining sites of Karamoja, Busia (in eastern Uganda), Mubende and Buhweju. The Rupa Gold mine of Karamoja is an informal mine that is situated about ten kilometers north of Moroto Town in Uganda. We purchase gold extracted at Rupa mine. The dugout earth is taken to homemade containers to be washed and sieved then we transport it Kampala or Nairobi for sale.

The Buhweju-Mashonga goldmine was discovered in 1933 and its gold deposits in are found in water areas. This gold mine is located in Busia, Eastern Uganda. It consists of Banded Iron Formation and Quartz vein hosted deposits. Gold mining in Busia gold field in conducted in Mawero Parish, Butebo sub-country and has about 13 tons of gold reserves. It is the largest gold deposit in Uganda and gold extraction can be done on large scale. Modern technology is used for extracting gold in Busia gold field and mining here is done underground. In Mubende, gold mining is done in Lujinji Village, Kitumbi sub-country.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, gold mining sites include Gorumbwa Gold Mine in the northeast, Agbarabo Gold Mines and Durba Gold Mines in the northeast.

Gold production in Uganda and DRC starts with breaking the ground or rock into smaller particles. At the mill, it is crushed using crushers to reduce the ore to pieces smaller than the size of road gravel which then is put in rotating drums filled with steel balls. The ore is ground to powder then mill operators thicken it with water to make pulp that will go through series of leaching tanks. The leaching dissolves gold out of the ore with help of chemical solvent (Cyanide). Gold dissolves and small carbon grains are put into the tank for it to adhere to the carbon.

Filtering the pulp through screens separates the gold bearing carbon. The carbon moves to a stripping vessel where hot caustic solution separates the gold from carbon and another screen filters the carbon grains out that can be recycled. The gold bearing solution will be ready for electro winning that recovers the gold from leaching chemicals. From here, the gold bearing solution is poured into a special container called cell.

Smelting then results into nearly pure gold and after adding a chemical mixture called flux to molten material, the gold separates from metals used to make terminals. The flux is poured away and gold remains. The molds are then used to turn liquid gold to solid bars known as Dore bars and the low purity bars are sent to refineries worldwide for further processing. Refining is the last gold production stage and involves removing impurities.