CMOC and its state-owned partner Gécamines reached a “consensus on the royalties issue” at the Tenke Fungurume operation.

The commodity trading industry has been dogged by anti-corruption investigations for years, but few individual traders or bosses have faced prosecution.

The latest results yield a weighted average grade of 1.57 grams gold per tonne over an average width of 44.2 metres.

Auction is estimated to achieve more than $30 million.

Deals are part of the president's drive to fast-track negotiations on long-pending mining and energy projects.

Incident took place on Thursday when five contractors were installing a head pulley of the conveyor infrastructure.