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THE venture that helped Detwiler land the new Congo contract was a concession he got in 1953 from the Liberian government to develop the Nimba iron-ore deposits in the rain forests. What happened then is as hazy as a rain forest. Detwiler says he was forced to give up control to Swedish interests but kept some of his stock. Another version is that the Liberian government pressured Detwiler out because he was not producing. Still, the Liberian experience led Detwiler to other African leaders. He met Lumumba's private secretary recently. On July 11 he flew to the Congo from Brussels in a plane loaded with Belgian paratroopers. Detwiler says he has no idea how much money the Congo project will need. CIMCO has authorized 1,000,000 shares of $1-par-value stock but only $10,000 worth has been sold. CIMCO's board members—engineers, bankers and lawyers—represent several millions in assets.
Actually, what Detwiler has is a hunting license to get U.S. firms to develop the Congo. Since it is a nonexclusive contract and other U.S. businessmen are also negotiating , with the Congo government, he must work fast. Now that he has the contract he must find financial backing. If Detwiler cannot produce—and there were unkind rumors in Leopoldville last week that Lumumba's pro-Communist advisers agreed to the contract in hopes of discrediting all Western businessmen—then the consequences might be disastrous. "If we should lose the resources of the Congo, it would be a serious blow to the free world," says Detwiler. He was counting on investors reacting to his dream as both an opportunity and an obligation. Certainly, the contract showed the willingness of the Congolese to reach westward for help instead of turning first to Russia.