Alferon Management Limited of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

is a management company responsible for running the International Mineral Resources (IMR) in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental coun ...

. International Mineral Resources (IMR) is a Zurich-based holding subsidiary of the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), one of the world’s largest private

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

and

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typi ...

s group owned by three Kazakh businessmen Alexander Mashkevich, Patokh Chodiev (or Shodiev) and

Alijan Ibragimov Alijan Ibragimov (also known as Alidjan or Alidzhon Ibragimov; 5 June 1953 – 3 February 2021) was a Kazakh oligarch of the Uyghur descent. He was born in Fergana, Uzbek SSR, and was a member of a well-known circle of oligarchs in Kazakhstan ...

(or Alidzhon Ibragimov). Alferon Management Limited of

is a mining acquisition company that has acquired many mining operations in different countries such as

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are ...

, the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

, in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

, and other countries that lack corporate governance.

Management

Alexander Mashkevich, Patokh Chodiev and

, better known as the Troika or Trio, are the owners of Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), International Mineral Resources (IMR) and Alferon Management. The Trio hired well known metallurgic expert, Dr. Johannes Sittard to head Alferon Management, International Mineral Resources, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (known as Eurasian Group),

Arduina Holdings In Gallo-Roman religion, Arduinna (also Arduina, Arduinnae or Arduinne) was the eponymous tutelary goddess of the Ardennes Forest and region, thought to be represented as a huntress riding a boar (primarily in the present-day regions of Belgium an ...

and preside over J&W Investments, a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

mining company owned by Alferon. Before joining Alferon, Sittard was world steel magnate

Lakshmi Mittal Lakshmi Niwas Mittal (; born 15 June 1950) is an Indian steel magnate, based in the United Kingdom. He is the Executive Chairman of ArcelorMittal, the world's second largest steelmaking company, as well as Chairman of stainless steel manufacture ...

’s right-hand man. After working for Mittal for several years, Sittard confessed that Mittal had paid the Trio US $100 million in order to facilitate business in Kazakhstan.

Acquisitions

in Kosovo

After much controversy, Alferon Management acquired in 2006

Ferronikeli Complex Drenas, also known as Gllogoc or Glogovac, is a town and municipality in central Kosovo. As of the 2011 census, there were 6,143 people residing in Drenas and 58,531 in the municipality. History The municipality of Drenas was established be ...

LLC, a

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

plant in

Drenas Drenas, also known as Gllogoc or Glogovac, is a town and municipality in central Kosovo. As of the 2011 census, there were 6,143 people residing in Drenas and 58,531 in the municipality. History The municipality of Drenas was established be ...

."Kosovo: Sale and Handover of Ferronikeli Completed"
''Economic Initiative for Kosovo (ECiKS)'' (3 May 2006) , accessed on May 31, 2006 The controversy behind the acquisition stemmed from Alferon receiving the approval on the acquisition from the

Kosovo Trust Agency Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

(KTA) despite the fact that they were not the highest bidder; US-

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

n company, Adi Nickel was the highest bidder offering 49.5 million

Euro The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s."Ferronikeli deal struck"
The World Bank Office in Kosovo, ''Kosovo Monthly Economic Briefing'' (31 May 2005) , accessed on May 31, 2006 Ferki Karaxha, the head of Ferronikeli trade union, stated that since Adi-Nickel won the first

tender Tender may refer to: Entertainment Film * ''Illegal Tender'' (2007), a film directed by Franc. Reyes * ''Tender'' (2012), a short film by Liz Tomkins * ''Tender'' (2019), a short film by Darryl Jones and Anthony Lucido * ''Tender'' (2019), a sh ...

, it was no fair to declare IMR a provisional winner.. He also stated that he "has always been against the sale of the company and is convinced that the sale is a great crime against the national economy"."Kosovo: ex-employees of Ferronikeli end their protest"
ECiKS (18 April 2007) The sale agreement also includes an investment commitment from IMR-Alferon of €20 million, plus a guarantee to employ at least 1,000 people at Ferronikeli. Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General (DSRSG),

Joachim Ruecker Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...

, said the sale sent “a very strong signal to international investors”. Mr Ruecker added: “Kosovo is a stable and mature society, which welcomes international investment.”"Progress on privatization: Ferronikeli success"
, Ronan Anderson, Pillar IV, ''Focus Kosovo'', 21st Edition (November–December 2006), UNMIK

Notes

{{reflist

External links

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) website

Cunico Resources website
Mining companies of Kazakhstan Mining companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Zürich Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation