On 14 June 2010, in an interview with Reuters, the Ministry of Mines of the Democratic Republic of Congo has proposed a 35% government share in all future mining joint ventures. The government's share in current joint ventures is said to range from 12% to 40%. The proposed increase is awaiting government approval and will serve as a basis for all future negotiations. The new proposal also requires companies to pay a 1% signing-on bonus on the total value of the deposit determined in the feasibility study and a 2.5% royalty on gross sales.