In August 2013, Dr. Lyu Guo, General Manager of Suntrans, served as interpreter and negotiation spokesperson for a Chinese enterprise consortium acquiring Uganda's largest copper mine—the Kilembe Copper Mine project. The Ugandan government participants included Hon. Astonp. Kajara, Deputy Minister of Finance; Mr. David Ssebabi, Deputy Minister of Privatization and Public Enterprises (the equivalent of the NDRC); Eng. Grace Nakku Matovu, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Development; Mr. Jim, Presidential Spokesperson; and Mr. William Byaruhanga, the President's lawyer.
Nestled at the foot of the Rwenzori Mountains, the Kilembe Copper Mine was discovered by the British in 1881 and was once operated by BHP Billiton and a Canadian company. It is one of Uganda's most important copper-cobalt projects, covering 611 square kilometers with estimated reserves of about 10 million tonnes of copper-cobalt; during its 1960–1983 heyday its foreign-exchange earnings accounted for as much as 30% of Uganda's GDP.
In early December 2013, the China-Uganda Kilembe copper mine negotiation concluded successfully. Ugandan Vice President Edward Ssekandi received Dr. Lyu Guo and other members of the Chinese mining delegation at the parliamentary hall of the State House, marking the entry of this major cross-border resource cooperation project into substantive implementation.
Throughout the cooperation, Suntrans not only provided on-site interpretation for leaders of the China Geological Survey during their visit to the Uganda Geological Survey and for Hon. Lokeris Peter, Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, but also took part in the communication and coordination of business negotiations, building a bridge of understanding between China and Uganda with its professional mining translation capability.
Known as the 'Pearl of Africa', Uganda enjoys long-term political stability and is a key Chinese investment destination in Africa. According to the Uganda Investment Authority, China became Uganda's largest planned source of investment in 2013; MOFCOM data shows China's direct investment flow to Uganda reached US$60 million in 2013, with a stock of US$384 million by year-end.
Since its formal registration in 2008, Suntrans has been committed to providing language translation and mining consulting services to governments, geological survey institutions, mining companies and investment funds at home and abroad, striving to build China's leading brand of professional geological, mining and energy translation. The Kilembe copper mine project is a vivid illustration of the company's business logic of 'using translation as an entry point to extend mining consulting services'.
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